Page 78 - Sember, Vedrana, and Shawnda A. Morrison. 2018. The Mind-Body Connection. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 78
Body-Mind Connection
vention study had a sample of 143 girls and 144 boys in the 4th and
5th grade. Physical activity in intervention schools was increased
by 47 minutes per week, and it was determined with the Physical
Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C). Academic perform-
ance, evaluated by Canadian Achievement Test (CAT-3), remained
unchanged.
Despite an overall reduction of academic time, the researchers
indicated a positive trend towards an enhanced academic perform-
ance (Ahamed et al., 2007). Similarly, in the Australian longitud-
inal study SHAPE (School Health; Academic Performance and Ex-
ercise), researchers came to the conclusion that school kids who
were given almost 60 minutes of physical activity/day, had after 14
weeks of study better ability to work and reduce body fat. Although
curriculum hours of Mathematics and Reading were transferred
to Physical Education, experts found positive trends in improv-
ing knowledge of mathematics and reading, body composition and
positive changes in behavior after two years (Dwyer et al., 1983). The
PASS & CATCH study examined 932 children from eight element-
ary schools from Texas. Experts were interested in the correlation
between increased school physical activity during the school day
and academic performance (Murray et al., 2008). Children from ex-
perimental group significantly improved math and reading scores.
From baseline to three years of study, classroom realized significant
improvements in academic performance (Donnelly et al., 2009),
measured with Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (Wechsler,
2001). Pupils from sports classes achieved statistically higher GPA
and higher scores in mathematics and foreign languages. Finally,
the HOPS (Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren) project was
an obesity prevention intervention, conducted in Florida, USA. This
project examined the results of 1197 students, divided into experi-
mental and control group. The intervention components included:
integrated and replicable nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle
educational curricula, matched to the state curricula standard. Ex-
aminees took Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT). In-
tervention children had significantly higher FCAT scores in math-
ematics than children from the control group (Hollar et al., 2010).
76
vention study had a sample of 143 girls and 144 boys in the 4th and
5th grade. Physical activity in intervention schools was increased
by 47 minutes per week, and it was determined with the Physical
Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C). Academic perform-
ance, evaluated by Canadian Achievement Test (CAT-3), remained
unchanged.
Despite an overall reduction of academic time, the researchers
indicated a positive trend towards an enhanced academic perform-
ance (Ahamed et al., 2007). Similarly, in the Australian longitud-
inal study SHAPE (School Health; Academic Performance and Ex-
ercise), researchers came to the conclusion that school kids who
were given almost 60 minutes of physical activity/day, had after 14
weeks of study better ability to work and reduce body fat. Although
curriculum hours of Mathematics and Reading were transferred
to Physical Education, experts found positive trends in improv-
ing knowledge of mathematics and reading, body composition and
positive changes in behavior after two years (Dwyer et al., 1983). The
PASS & CATCH study examined 932 children from eight element-
ary schools from Texas. Experts were interested in the correlation
between increased school physical activity during the school day
and academic performance (Murray et al., 2008). Children from ex-
perimental group significantly improved math and reading scores.
From baseline to three years of study, classroom realized significant
improvements in academic performance (Donnelly et al., 2009),
measured with Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (Wechsler,
2001). Pupils from sports classes achieved statistically higher GPA
and higher scores in mathematics and foreign languages. Finally,
the HOPS (Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren) project was
an obesity prevention intervention, conducted in Florida, USA. This
project examined the results of 1197 students, divided into experi-
mental and control group. The intervention components included:
integrated and replicable nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle
educational curricula, matched to the state curricula standard. Ex-
aminees took Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT). In-
tervention children had significantly higher FCAT scores in math-
ematics than children from the control group (Hollar et al., 2010).
76
