Fitness, cognitive function, and mental health
Physical activity (PA) has the potential to positively stimulate brain, cognitive, and mental health in adolescents, a period of dynamic neurobiological development, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), or strong PA interventions, are considered to be time-efficient, scalable, and easily implemented into existing school curricula, but their impact on cognitive, academic, and mental health outcomes is not known.
The primary objective of the Fit to Study trial was to investigate whether a practical and scalable HIIT-style VPA intervention delivered during school physical education (PE) could improve mathematics achievement.
The Fit to Study cluster
The randomized controlled trial included 18,261 students, aged 12-13 years, from 104 secondary schools in southern/central England. Schools were randomized to an intervention condition, where PE teachers provided an additional 10 minutes of VPA per PE lesson per school year (2017-2018), or in a 'PE as usual' control condition.
Secondary outcomes included assessments of cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle run), cognitive ability (executive function, relational memory, and processing speed), and mental health (intensity and difficulty questionnaires and measures of self-esteem). The main ITT analysis used structural equation models with linear models and cluster-robust standard errors to test for intervention effects. The compiler average causal effect (CACE) was estimated using a two-stage least squares approach.
Results.
The HIIT-style VPA intervention did not significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness, cognitive performance, or mental health.
Subgroup analyses showed no significant moderation of the intervention effect by gender, socioeconomic status, or baseline fitness level. Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness were not significantly associated with changes in cognitive or mental health outcomes.The trial was characterized by high dropout and low intervention compliance; the results of the CACE analysis were consistent with those of the ITT analysis.
The effect of a one-year vigorous physical activity intervention on fitness, cognitive performance, and mental health in young adolescents and mental health in young adolescents: the Fit to Study cluster randomised controlled trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 18, 47 (2021). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01113-y
Conclusion
As a result, the results of many studies showing that high-intensity fitness improves cognitive function and mental health did not apply to this condition. The reasons seemed to be the dropout and non-compliance issues mentioned above.
In fact, I thought that if we were to try to implement these in school education, etc., the conclusions would be similar to this study. Some of the children under the guidance of teachers who have "experienced" the effects of high-intensity training may benefit from fitness, but I don't think that is the case in many cases. I wondered if this study, with its limited conclusions, could actually happen.
In the study, the schools that were able to successfully incorporate the program interventions were the ones that contributed to cognitive functioning and mental health, so this study shows how difficult the programs are to implement.
