Efecto de la práctica deportiva durante la infancia y la adolescencia sobre el rendimiento cognitivo. Effect of sports during childhood and adolescence on congnitive performance

Resumen

In recent years, research on the effects of physical activity on cognitive performance has increased exponentially, showing that an optimal physical fitness improves cognitive functioning. One effective tool to increase physical activity levels in childhood and adolescence is though sport; however, research focusing on sport is scarce. Thus, the overall aim of the present Doctoral Thesis was to analyse the influence of sport practice during childhood and adolescence on cognitive performance. To achieve this objective, this dissertation has been structured in four studies. The first three are as a result from the "Sport at School" Erasmus+ Project, implemented in 20 schools from five countries: France, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain. In the first study, the baseline data were analysed to determine whether a high cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can attenuate the effects of overweight and obesity on cognitive performance in schoolchildren aged 7-8 years. Results showed that, regardless of their weight status, fit children attained greater academic achievement and psychosocial functioning than their peers who were unfit and overweight/obese. Moreover, in fit children, academic achievement and psychosocial functioning did not differ between the two weight status categories. The second study examined the effects of a school-based karate intervention on academic achievement, psychosocial functioning and physical fitness in 721 participants. The intervention provided benefits compared to the control group for academic achievement, conduct problems, CRF, and balance. In addition, there was a trend towards significant benefits for flexibility. The third study determined which children benefited most from the karate intervention through the analysis of the inter-individual variability on psychosocial functioning and academic achievement. Responders for psychosocial functioning presented higher psychosocial difficulties at baseline than non-responders. Responders for academic achievement were mostly males, with an older age, with worse academic achievement and higher psychosocial difficulties at baseline compared with non-responders. Psychosocial functioning' s responders improved academic achievement and vice versa when compared with non-responders. The fourth study focused on sport practice during adolescence, specifically in those athletes who practice sport at the highest level. The pre-university academic achievement of 1,126 students from the Spanish Elite Sport High-School was analysed. Elite athletes attained a lower overall academic achievement than non-athlete peers, which was confirmed for most academic subjects. These results were not affected by the student gender or the type of sport performed, so that elite athletes in any type of sport (according to various sports classifications) had worse academic performance than their classmates. The main conclusions of this PhD Thesis are: (I) children with higher CRF showed greater academic achievement and psychosocial functioning regardless of their weight status, supporting the `fat but fit "paradox " and reinforcing the importance of improving childrens CRF; (II) a one-year school-based karate intervention improved academic achievement, conduct problems, and physical fitness in primary school children, supporting the inclusion of karate during physical education lessons; (III) the Karate Mind and Movement programme was particularly effective in those children with lower academic achievement and greater psychosocial difficulties, being school-based karate lessons an alternative to enhance relevant functions for learning and behaviour in these children; (IV) young elite athletes attained lower academic achievement than the general population regardless of sex and the type of sport, highlighting the importance of programmes aimed at facilitating dual careers.