Purpose
Although divergent findings across studies, a growing body of evidence shows that PA may positively correlate with several mental health outcomes as well as with academic achievement. Longitudinal studies exploring these associations using objective measured PA are lacking
The project aims to understand how physical activity might be related to mental health and academic achievement, and how this develops in course of the three years at lower secondary school
Project Description
The project was organised as a prospective cohort study, which tracked pupils from 11 schools annually, from 8th grade through to 10th grade.
The measurements conducted were:
- seven days objectively measured activity level using an accelerometer,
- a questionnaire,
- anthropometrical measurements,
- school grades.
Results
Results from the project shows physical activity to be weakly correlated with mental wellbeing. No associations between physical activity and mental health problems, or between physical activity and academic achievement were found, neither in cross-sectional, nor longitudinal data.