Skip to main content
Download PDF

Relationship between physical fitness and executive function in preschool children: a cross-sectional study

BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation volume 16, Article number: 238 (2024) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Physical fitness (PF) is important for children's physical and cognitive development. There is increasing interest in the relationship between physical fitness, and executive function. Since it is unclear which physical fitness component benefits which domain of executive functioning, it’s challenging to develop effective physical intervention programs for children with executive functioning disorders. This study aimed to examine the relationship between physical fitness components, and executive function domains.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 kindergartens and recruited 272 preschool children aged 3–6. PF was assessed by the National Physical Fitness Measurement (NPFM), including six physical fitness subtests: 10-m shuttle run test (SRT), standing long jump (SLJ), tennis ball throwing (TBT), double-leg timed hop (DTH) tests, sit-and-reach (SR), and balance beam walking (BBW). Executive function assessments include the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) test, digit span test (DST) and Head-toe-knee-shoulder (HTKS) task, to evaluate cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control respectively.

Results

Results from the Spearman correlations analysis showed a significant association between physical fitness and executive function. The hierarchical linear regression showed that age was the only predictor for cognitive flexibility (β = 0.53, p < 0.01) and working memory (β = 0.53, p < 0.01). For inhibitory control, children with older age (β = 0.52, p < 0.01) and better performance on SRT (β = -0.14, p < 0.01) and SLJ (β = 0.13, p < 0.01) scored higher in the HTKS.

Conclusions

The results indicated physical fitness, especially speed-agility and lower limb strength, is related to inhibitory control in preschool children.

Peer Review reports

Background

Physical fitness represents an individual’s ability to perform physical activities, including muscle strength and endurance, body composition, and flexibility [1]. It is a fundamental factor and potential biomarker of physical development, cognitive ability, and academic performance. The relationship between physical fitness and executive function has received increasing attention. It has been proven that both motor and executive functions involve specific brain structures such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the neocerebellum [2]. Physical activity can improve the structural plasticity of gray matter and white matter in children and adolescents [3, 4], promote the change of brain activation patterns under specific tasks [5], improve brain structure and functional networks [4], and then promote the improvement of executive function [6] in children and adolescents. Executive functions (EFs) serve as an umbrella term to encompass the set of higher-order cognitive abilities that are necessary to pursue and achieve a goal [7]. Executive function includes three cognitive components [8, 9]: cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control. Executive function is strongly related to academic achievement [10], social function [11, 12], and emotion regulation [13]. Preschool is considered a golden stage of the development of executive function [14]. For this reason, improving the executive function in preschoolers is of great significance to public health.

It is still unclear which elements of physical fitness are beneficial for which domain of executive function, thus making it difficult to develop efficient physical intervention programs for children with executive dysfunction. Luo et al. [15] and Nieto-López et al. [14] suggested that preschool children with better cardiorespiratory fitness had better performance in inhibition control. Li et al. [16] reported a significant relationship between balance, cardiorespiratory fitness, and inhibition control. Luo et al. [15] also found that cardiorespiratory fitness was related to working memory. Moradi et al. [17] revealed no relationship between flexibility, speed, muscular strength, and endurance with information processing or inhibitory control, and a positive association between agility and inhibitory control. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is that physical fitness was related to executive function in preschool children. This study aims to explore the relationship between the components of physical fitness and the domains of executive function. The findings of this study may serve as a foundation for physical fitness to help the development of executive function in the preschool stage.

Methods

Study design

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 kindergartens in the Zhongshan Torch Development Zone, China, from October to November 2023. All data for each participant were collected within one week. This study was approved by the medical ethics committee of the Zhongshan Torch Development Zone People’s Hospital (2024–150).

Participants

The required sample size to achieve sufficient statistical power was determined through a calculation using PASS 2021, with the following parameters: effect size of r = 0.23 derived from a previous study [14], α = 0.05, and power = 0.90. The minimum sample size necessary to achieve the targeted power was 194. A cluster sample of fourteen classes (310 preschoolers) from 36–72 months of age were informed about the study. All parents and legal guardians of participants provided signed informed consent. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) absence of school during the study period; (2) children with physical or mental disorders reported by parents; (3) participants with missing data; and (4) participants with biologically implausible values (defined by the logical check boundary value for the NPFM test items).

Among 310 participants recruited in this study, five children were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion criteria (i.e., autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, developmental delay), and 4 children were absent during the study period. Of the overall sample of 301 participants included for further screening, 29 participants were removed due to missing data in two or more assessments (e.g., demographic questionnaires, physical fitness, and executive function outcomes). Thus, a final sample of 272 participants (Mage = 54.30 ± 9.99 months, 46.1% girls) was used for the final statistical analysis (Table 1). A gender comparison showed no difference between demographics and executive function. Boys showed higher body weight and BMI than girls in anthropometrics (p < 0.05). In physical fitness, boys demonstrated better performance in SRT, TBT, but shorter distances in SR than girls (p < 0.05).

Table 1 Overview of means and standard deviations for all variables stratified by sex
Full size table

Demographic information

The demographic information, including the assessment of age, sex, socioeconomic status [1: Annual per capita disposable income [18] 8601 yuan to 5: above 90,116 yuan], parental education, birth gestational age [1: full-term; 2: preterm; 3: post-term] were collected via online questionnaires (supplementary 1) that were sent to the parent(s) or legal guardian of the participating children.

Anthropometric

The anthropometrics of the participants were collected in the preschool by a registered nurse, and the data included body height and body weight. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as the body weight in kg divided by the square of the body height in meters.

Physical fitness

The physical fitness of the preschool children in this study was assessed by using NPFM, which consisted of a battery of comprehensive physical fitness tests designed by the China General Administration of Sport in 2000 [19]. NPFM includes six physical fitness subtests: 10-m shuttle run test (SRT), standing long jump (SLJ), tennis ball throwing (TBT), double-leg timed hop (DTH) tests, sit-and-reach (SR), and balance beam walking (BBW), which reflect speed-agility, lower limb strength, upper limb strength, coordination, flexibility, and balance, respectively [20]. The order of the six tests is randomized. All tests except the SRT were performed twice and the maximin values were recorded. The NPFM has been reported to have acceptable reliability and sensitivity in assessing the physical fitness of preschool children in China [19]. The details of the NPFM test were described in supplementary 2.

Executive function

Cognitive flexibility: The dimensional change card sort (DCCS) [21, 22] was used to assess cognitive flexibility. Children were presented with cards of different shapes (dog, fish, bird), colors (red, yellow, blue), and sizes (small, medium, large). In the first six trials, children were asked to sort cards by shape, then six trials by color, and then six trials by size. If children scored at least five points on the sorting by size trial, participants were given six more trials where they sorted cards by color and size according to the border rule. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of DST in preschool children was 0.75 [23].

Working memory: The backward digit span task (DST) from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Revised [24] was administered to measure participants’ verbal working memory capacity. Participants were asked to accurately recite a string of numbers in the reverse order that began with two-number sequences and increased in length to eight digits, including two trials for each length. Higher scores indicated better working memory capacity. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of DST in preschool children was 0.71 [25].

Inhibitory control: The head-toes-knees-shoulders task (HTKS) [26] was used to evaluate the inhibitory control. There are a total of 30 test items with scores of 0 (incorrect), 1 (self-correct), or 2 (correct) for each item. A self-correct is defined as any motion to the incorrect response, but self-correcting and ending with the correct action. Scores range from 0 to 60. Higher scores indicate higher levels of inhibitory control. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of HTKS was 0.95 [27].

Statistical methods

Statistical analysis was conducted in the IBM SPSS software (version 20.0; Armonk, New York, USA) with a significant level of 0.05. Quantitative data were reported as means along with standard deviations (SDs), and qualitative data were reported as frequency along with percentages. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used to determine the normality of the distribution of the dataset. Of all the variables, only the distance of sit-and-reach was distributed normally. Therefore, nonparametric tests were used to examine the data.

Mann–Whitney U tests and Chi-squared tests were conducted to compare demographics, anthropometrics, physical fitness, and executive function between two sex groups. The Spearman correlation test was conducted to examine the association of all the variables. Correlation coefficients were evaluated as follows: < 0.20: no correlation; 0.20–0.39: low correlation; 0.40–0.59: moderate correlation; 0.60–0.79: moderately high correlation; 0.80 and above: high correlation [15].

Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which demographics, anthropometrics, and physical fitness predict executive function. Two models were computed: model 1 included demographics and anthropometrics, model 2 added physical fitness.

Results

The correlations between demographics, anthropometrics, physical fitness, and executive function were presented in Table 2. The scores of DCCS, which represented the ability of cognitive flexibility, showed moderate correlation with SRT (r = −0.47, p < 0.01), SLJ (r = 52, p < 0.01), TBT (r = 0.46, p < 0.01), DTH (r = −0.49, p < 0.01), and low correlation with BBW (r = −0.33, p < 0.01). The scores of DST indicating level of working memory demonstrated moderate correlation with SRT (r = −0.45, p < 0.01), SLJ (r = 0.52, p < 0.01), TBT (r = 0.43, p < 0.01), DTH (r = −0.50, p < 0.01), and low correlation with BBW (r = −0.32, p < 0.01). The scores of HTKS, which measured the ability of inhibitory control, were correlated with SRT (r = −0.59, p < 0.01), TBT (r = 0.58, p < 0.01), DTH (r = −0.54, p < 0.01) and BBW (r = −0.49, p < 0.01) moderately, and indicated moderately high correlation with SLJ (r = 0.66, p < 0.01). The distance of SR was not correlated with any domain of executive function.

Table 2 Correlations of all study variables
Full size table

In the hierarchical regression analyses, demographic and anthropometric variables were entered into the first block, including age, sex, father’s education, mother’s education, birth gestational age, socioeconomic status, and BMI. Then, in the second block, six domains of physical fitness, including SRT, SLJ, TBT, DTH, SR, and BBW were included. As shown in Table 3, two blocks of predictors were combined using hierarchical linear regression for cognitive flexibility. The second block had greater predictive capacity of cognitive flexibility and accounted for 44% of the outcome variance (R2 = 0.44, p < 0.01). However, among all the variables, only age could significantly predict cognitive flexibility (β = 0.53, p < 0.01). Table 4 revealed the predictors for working memory. The second block accounted for 39% of the scores of DST (R2 = 0.39, p < 0.01), and had the highest predictive ability for working memory. Only age was a significant predictor of working memory (β = 0.53, p < 0.01). Regarding inhibitory control (Table 5), block 1 predicted 52% of the variance (R2 = 0.52, p < 0.01), with age (β = 0.73, p < 0.01) and socioeconomic status (β = 0.19, p < 0.01) associated with inhibitory control. In block 3, children with older age (β = 0.48, p < 0.01) and better performance on SRT (β = −0.14, p < 0.01) and SLJ (β = 0.13, p < 0.01) scored higher in the HTKS. The overall regression model predicted 59% of the outcome variance (R2 = 0.59, p < 0.01).

Table 3 Results of hierarchical regression analyses for demographic characteristics, physical fitness, and the dimensional change card sort score
Full size table
Table 4 Results of hierarchical regression analyses for demographic characteristics, physical fitness, and the backward digit span task score
Full size table
Table 5 Results of hierarchical regression analyses for demographic characteristics, physical fitness, and the head-toes-knees-shoulders task score
Full size table

Discussion

The present study aimed to explore the association between physical fitness and executive function in preschool children. The results of the present study suggested that speed-agility and lower limb strength of physical fitness were significant predictors of inhibitory control. Age was the only predictor of cognitive flexibility and working memory.

The results suggested that better speed-agility and lower limb strength were associated with better inhibitory control. This finding is in line with the previous studies. Regarding speed-agility, speed relates to the ability to perform a movement within a short period, while agility relates to the ability to rapidly and accurately change the position/direction of the entire body in response to a stimulus [28]. According to the proposed models of agility [29], cognitive factors related to agility include visual scanning, knowledge of situations, pattern recognition, and anticipation. Solis-Urra et al. [30] found a significant effect between speed-agility and inhibitory control as measured by the 4 × 10-m shuttle run test and go/no-go test. It has been proven that speed-agility was related to inhibitory control and underlying brain activity with a larger P3 amplitude [31]. For the SLJ, it consists of preliminary crouching, a subsequent swinging up of the arms, and extensions of the hips, knees, and ankles, which link the upper limbs, lower limbs, and trunk [32]. Both Veraksa et al. [33] and Malambo et al. [34] found that standing long jump is associated with cognitive function, which agrees with the findings of the present study. The more complex and demanding physical fitness tasks that require more precise coordination showed stronger links to cognitive skills [35]. Physical fitness elements like upper and lower limb coordination, and movement speed-agility are associated with executive function.

Although there is no consensus on what cognitive processes are more related to physical fitness [36], inhibitory control seemed to be the most sensitive executive function domain to short-term endurance and coordination training, and it could also benefit from long-term physical activity, as reported by a meta-analysis by Drozdowska et al. [37]. Li et al. [16] found a negative association between the 20 m shuttle run test and the reaction time of the inhibitory control test in preschool children. Veraksa et al. [33] suggested that inhibitory control was positively linked with physical fitness. Additionally, several randomized trials have demonstrated that children with higher physical fitness levels exhibit better inhibitory control and academic performance in dimensions such as language and mathematics, suggesting the beneficial effects of physical fitness on both academic achievement and inhibitory control [38, 39]. Several studies investigated the neural mechanism behind this correlation. Madsen et al. [40] suggested that inhibitory control has been positively related to white matter integrity in the motor cortex and inferior frontal cortex. Physical activity intervention also effectively strengthened brain functional connectivity, predominantly within the temporal, frontal, and cerebellar regions demonstrably while enhancing EF performance [41].

Strengths and limitations

The strengths of the current study are that the sample size was relatively large and there was a comprehensive assessment of physical fitness and executive function in preschoolers. However, it's important to recognize the limitations when interpreting the findings. First, this study employed a cross-sectional design, thus no conclusion about causality can be drawn. Second, the cluster sampling conducted in Zhongshan City may limit the generalization of the research results to the wider population. Lastly, in addition to controlling for known potential confounding factors, there may still be other unconsidered or unmeasured variables.

Conclusions

The findings of the present cross-sectional study suggest a positive association between better performance in speed-agility and lower limb strength of physical fitness and better inhibitory control. Further longitudinal studies with objective assessments of physical activity levels are needed to enhance the understanding of the impact of physical activity and physical fitness on executive function.

Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

SRT:

10-m shuttle run test

SLJ:

Standing long jump

TBT:

Tennis ball throwing

DTH:

Double-leg timed hop

SR:

Sit-and-reach

BBW:

Balance beam walking

DCCS:

Dimensional change card sort

DST:

Digit span task

HTKS:

Head-toes-knees-shoulders task

References

  1. Ortega FB, Ruiz JR, Castillo MJ, Sjöström M. Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: a powerful marker of health. Int J Obes (2005). 2008;32(1):1–11.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Diamond A. Close interrelation of motor development and cognitive development and of the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex. Child Dev. 2000;71(1):44–56.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Xiong X, Zhu LN, Dong XX, Wang W, Yan J, Chen AG. Aerobic Exercise Intervention Alters Executive Function and White Matter Integrity in Deaf Children: A Randomized Controlled Study. Neural Plast. 2018;2018:3735208.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Migueles JH, Cadenas-Sanchez C, Esteban-Cornejo I, Torres-Lopez LV, Aadland E, Chastin SF, et al. Associations of Objectively-Assessed Physical Activity and Sedentary Time with Hippocampal Gray Matter Volume in Children with Overweight/Obesity. J Clin Med. 2020;9(4):1080.

  5. Chaddock-Heyman L, Erickson KI, Voss MW, Knecht AM, Pontifex MB, Castelli DM, et al. The effects of physical activity on functional MRI activation associated with cognitive control in children: a randomized controlled intervention. Front Hum Neurosci. 2013;7:72.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Xue Y, Yang Y, Huang T. Effects of chronic exercise interventions on executive function among children and adolescents: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2019;53(22):1397–404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Cristofori I, Cohen-Zimerman S, Grafman J. Chapter 11 - Executive functions. In: D'Esposito M, Grafman JH, editors. Handbook of clinical neurology. 163: Elsevier; 2019. p. 197–219.

  8. Diamond A. Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol. 2013;64:135–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Miyake A, Friedman NP, Emerson MJ, Witzki AH, Howerter A, Wager TD. The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “Frontal Lobe” tasks: a latent variable analysis. Cogn Psychol. 2000;41(1):49–100.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Willoughby MT, Wylie AC, Little MH. Testing longitudinal associations between executive function and academic achievement. Dev Psychol. 2019;55(4):767–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Ben-Asher E, Porter BM, Roe MA, Mitchell ME, Church JA. Bidirectional longitudinal relations between executive function and social function across adolescence. Dev Psychol. 2023;59(9):1587–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Gong C, Wang R, Wang N. Validity of the Chinese version of the weekly calendar planning activity (WCPA) on assessing executive function in adults with stroke. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2024:1–20. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09602011.2024.2338638. Accessed 30 Nov 2024.

  13. Binder AS, Brown HR, Harvey EA. Executive Function and Trajectories of Emotion Dysregulation in Children with Parent-Reported Behavior Problems. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2020;48(4):481–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Nieto-López M, Sánchez-López M, Visier-Alfonso ME, Martínez-Vizcaíno V, Jiménez-López E, Álvarez-Bueno C. Relation between physical fitness and executive function variables in a preschool sample. Pediatr Res. 2020;88(4):623–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Luo X, Herold F, Ludyga S, Gerber M, Kamijo K, Pontifex MB, et al. Association of physical activity and fitness with executive function among preschoolers. International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP. 2023;23(4): 100400.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Li Y, Zhou T, Lu Y, Sang M, Liu J, He X, et al. The association between the health-related physical fitness and inhibitory control in preschool children. BMC Pediatr. 2022;22(1):106.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Moradi A, Sadri Damirchi E, Narimani M, Esmaeilzadeh S, Dziembowska I, Azevedo LB, et al. Association between Physical and Motor Fitness with Cognition in Children. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania). 2019;55(1):7.

  18. National Bureau of Statistics. Statistical Bulletin on National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China in 2022. 2023. Available from: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202302/t20230228_1919011.html.

  19. Fang H, Ho IMK. Intraday reliability, sensitivity, and minimum detectable change of national physical fitness measurement for preschool children in China. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(11): e0242369.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Xiong X, Zhang W, An Y, Meng Y, Li H, Zhen Z, et al. Association between physical health and physical activity behaviors for children aged 3–6 years in kindergarten: A cross-sectional study from China. PLoS ONE. 2022;17(12): e0278341.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Zelazo PD. The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS): a method of assessing executive function in children. Nat Protoc. 2006;1(1):297–301.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Cepeda NJ, Munakata Y. Why do children perseverate when they seem to know better: graded working memory, or directed inhibition? Psychon Bull Rev. 2007;14(6):1058–65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Xiong S, Zhang P, Gao Z. Effects of Exergaming on Preschoolers' Executive Functions and Perceived Competence: A Pilot Randomized Trial. J Clin Med. 2019;8(4):469.

  24. Wechsler D. Wechsler Intelligence Scales for children Revised. New York: The Psychological Corporation; 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Wei W, Li Y, Su H-Y. Predicting the growth patterns in early mathematics achievement from cognitive and environmental factors among Chinese kindergarten children. Learn Individ Differ. 2020;79: 101841.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. McClelland MM, Cameron CE, Duncan R, Bowles RP, Acock AC, Miao A, et al. Predictors of early growth in academic achievement: the head-toes-knees-shoulders task. Front Psychol. 2014;5:599.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Chien HY. Effects of Two Teaching Strategies on Preschoolers’ Oral Language Skills: Repeated Read-Aloud With Question and Answer Teaching Embedded and Repeated Read-Aloud With Executive Function Activities Embedded. Front Psychol. 2019;10:2932.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Liang Z, Deng C, Li D, Lo WLA, Yu Q, Chen Z. The effects of the home-based exercise during COVID-19 school closure on the physical fitness of preschool children in China. Front Pediatr. 2022;10: 932734.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Matlák J, Fridvalszki M, Kóródi V, Szamosszegi G, Pólyán E, Kovács B, et al. Relationship Between Cognitive Functions and Agility Performance in Elite Young Male Soccer Players. J Strength Cond Res. 2024;38(1):116–22.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Solis-Urra P, Sanchez-Martinez J, Olivares-Arancibia J, Castro Piñero J, Sadarangani KP, Ferrari G, et al. Physical fitness and its association with cognitive performance in Chilean schoolchildren: The Cogni-Action Project. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021;31(6):1352–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Mora-Gonzalez J, Esteban-Cornejo I, Solis-Urra P, Migueles JH, Cadenas-Sanchez C, Molina-Garcia P, et al. Fitness, physical activity, sedentary time, inhibitory control, and neuroelectric activity in children with overweight or obesity: The ActiveBrains project. Psychophysiology. 2020;57(6): e13579.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Yasue M, Ueda T, Fukuda T, Adachi T, Ozaki Y. The Difference Between Movement and Self-Recognition in Children Performing the Standing Long Jump. Global Pediatr Health. 2019;6:2333794x19890767.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Veraksa A, Tvardovskaya A, Gavrilova M, Yakupova V, Musálek M. Associations Between Executive Functions and Physical Fitness in Preschool Children. Front Psychol. 2021;12: 674746.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Malambo C, Klepačová A, Brodská K, Clark CCT, Musálek M. Relationship among some coordinative and dynamic strength capabilities and constructive and conceptual thinking among preschool-age children. Front Psychol. 2024;15:1349884.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Wick K, Kriemler S, Granacher U. Associations between measures of physical fitness and cognitive performance in preschool children. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2022;14(1):80.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Visier-Alfonso ME, Álvarez-Bueno C, Sánchez-López M, Cavero-Redondo I, Martínez-Hortelano JA, Nieto-López M, et al. Fitness and executive function as mediators between physical activity and academic achievement. J Sports Sci. 2021;39(14):1576–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Drozdowska A, Jendrusch G, Platen P, Lücke T, Kersting M, Sinningen K. Dose-Related Effects of Endurance, Strength and Coordination Training on Executive Functions in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review. Children (Basel, Switzerland). 2022;9(11):1651.

  38. Chou CC, Kao SC, Pan CC, McCullick B, Fu HL, Wang CH. Cognitively engaging movement games improve interference control and academic performance in overweight children: A randomized control trial. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2023;33(4):521–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Hillman CH, Pontifex MB, Castelli DM, Khan NA, Raine LB, Scudder MR, et al. Effects of the FITKids randomized controlled trial on executive control and brain function. Pediatrics. 2014;134(4):e1063–71.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Madsen KS, Baaré WF, Vestergaard M, Skimminge A, Ejersbo LR, Ramsøy TZ, et al. Response inhibition is associated with white matter microstructure in children. Neuropsychologia. 2010;48(4):854–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Dong X, Gui X, Klich S, Zhu L, Chen D, Sun Z, et al. The effects of football juggling learning on executive function and brain functional connectivity. Front Hum Neurosci. 2024;18:1362418.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the children and their parents for participating in this study and the kindergarten directors, teachers, and physicians for their support.

Funding

Zhongshan City Social Welfare and Basic Research Project (2021B118); Key Realm R&D Program of Guangdong Province (2019B030335001); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University (21623324); Scientific and Technological Planning Project of Guangzhou City (2024B03J1341); Medical Scientific Research Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (B2023098).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Zhaowen Zhou and Yiping Chen contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Children’s Health Care, Zhongshan Torch Development Zone People’s Hospital, Zhongshan, Guangdong, China

    Yiping Chen, Ke Huang, Feng Zeng & Cheng Deng

  2. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Zhaowen Zhou, Zhenwen Liang, Nan Wang & Zhuoming Chen

Authors
  1. Zhaowen Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yiping Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ke Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Feng Zeng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhenwen Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. Nan Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  7. Zhuoming Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  8. Cheng Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Z.Z. wrote the main manuscript text and designed the study, and Y.C. collected data and prepared tables, K.H. and F.Z. collected data, N.W. and Z.L. analyzed data. Z.C. and C.D. supervised the study. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhuoming Chen or Cheng Deng.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was reviewed and approved by the medical ethics committee of the Zhongshan Torch Development Zone People’s Hospital (2024–150). Methods were carried out in accordance with the latest version of the Declaration of Helsinki. Parents or legal representatives of all participants provided their written informed consent before the study started.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhou, Z., Chen, Y., Huang, K. et al. Relationship between physical fitness and executive function in preschool children: a cross-sectional study. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 16, 238 (2024). https://doiorg.publicaciones.saludcastillayleon.es/10.1186/s13102-024-01028-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doiorg.publicaciones.saludcastillayleon.es/10.1186/s13102-024-01028-8

Keywords

BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation

ISSN: 2052-1847

Contact us