Theory and Practice of Physical Culture № 12 2016

Associate Professor, PhD A.P. Babchenko¹
Associate Professor, PhD L.N. Koval¹
Associate Professor, PhD A.I. Osadchiy^1
1North-Caucasian Federal University, branch in Pyatigorsk

Keywords: executive functions, physical activity, cognitive progress, preschool children.

Background. As things now stand, insufficient motor activity has evolved into a sort of national epidemic with the relevant serious negative effects [7]. These commonly known effects include: children’s obesity, low intelligence quotients (IQ) and poor academic progress [2; 13]. A recent meta-analytical overview of the children and adolescents’ performance profiling study reports showed physical practices being of positive effect on the children’s cognitive development process (Effect Rate = 0.32) [17]. We believe that the children’s cognitive ability development process may be improved by specific influences on the children’s executive functions that are known to develop from the early childhood till adolescence with the most dynamic progress stage in the preschool age [5; 9; 12].

Objective of the study was to rate the effects of aerobic practices on the children’s executive functionality.

Methods and structure of the study. Subject to the experiment were 94 children including 56 girls and 38 boys aged 4 to 4.7 years (SD = 0.84) and diagnosed with obesity (BMI ≥ 85 percentile) and physical inactivity (with the total physical activity varying under one hour per week), albeit free of diagnosed health disorders. The subjects were randomly split up into the following three groups: Group 1 that was subject to low physical loads provided by 20-minute aerobic workouts per day; Group 2 subject to high physical loads from 40-minute aerobic workouts per day; and Reference Group 3 free of systemic physical activity. The aerobic workouts took 5 days per week for 24 weeks. Intensity levels of the workouts were about the same, with the training sessions being different only in time (workload) of the daily practices. The applied physical exercises were selected based on the following criteria: easily understandable, making fun, and giving the means to increase the heart rate to 118-158 beats per minute (mostly in games). Average heart rate of every child during the training sessions was registered using Polar Electro Oy S610i system (Finland-made). The children’s cognitive function progress prior to and after the experiment was rated by the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) tests [8; 15]. Average attendance rate of the Study Group children was estimated at 85% (SD = 11.5). The study was governed by the supreme mental human functionality dynamic localization theory by R. Luria whose ideas provided a basis for the modern neuropsychology [14]. The CAS test is the standard children’s cognitive functionality rating test to assess the four interrelated cognitive processes, namely: planning, attention focusing, simultaneous and consecutive cognitive processes. The test was selected for the following reasons. First, it provides metrics of the processes more sensitive to the cognitive functionality variations than the traditional IQ-based tests; and, second, the CAS tests are known to be in high correlation with the academic progress rates (г = 0.71) plus highly sensitive to educational interventions [3; 15; 16].

Study results and discussion. Children subject to the high-intensity aerobic training program showed notable improvements as verified by the four interrelated cognitive process rates metered by the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) test: see Tables 1 and 2 hereunder.

Table 1. Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) test rates, Body Mass Indices and physical activity intensity rates prior to and after the experiment

Table 2. Statistical co-variation analysis (ANCOVA) results

The study data and analyses support the study reports that have demonstrated the aerobic physical activity being of positive effect on the cognitive abilities via the relevant executive functions. However, subject to the previous studies of that kind were only elderly people [5; 6].

Conclusion. Regular and duly designed aerobic workouts may be applied to improve the body executive functions of importance for the child’s cognitive and social development process.

References

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Corresponding author: ann-babchenko@yandex.ru

Abstract

The study was designed to explore the effects of aerobic exercises on the children’s executive functions. Subject to the experiment was a sample of preschool children free of diagnosed health disorders (n = 94; average age = 4.2 years; Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 85 percentiles). Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) tests were performed prior to and after the experiment. Co-variation analysis of the test rates showed a significant effect of the exercises on the cognitive performance in the Study Group children, i.e. the analysis showed the Study Group versus Reference Group CAS test rates being significantly different (р=0.03). The study findings may be interpreted as indicating the presence of some mechanisms that ensure the children’s physical activity being of positive effect on the cognitive processes in the brain.