The literature review ‘Associations between Physical Activity and Growth and Development in 0–5-year-old Children’ examined the associations between exercise and the growth and development of children aged 0 to 5. The study only included research that had been conducted repeatedly over a long period of time (longitudinal research) and in which the amount of physical activity could be measured. This was done with the aim of being able to make a statement about the extent to which physical activity contributes to healthy growth and development. Due to the strict criteria, a total of 43 studies were included in the literature review.
Motor and cognitive development
Exercise has a positive effect on the motor development of young children. Only the effect of the amount of physical activity was examined. The positive effect of exercise on motor development may be stronger when both the amount and quality of movement are taken into account.
Combining exercise with a learning task, for example exercising while learning to count, has a positive effect on results compared with learning while sitting. Exercise therefore also has a positive effect on the cognitive development of young children. There also appears to be a positive association between exercise and learning effects in the longer term, such as better school performance when children are more physically active.
Attention and concentration
Some of the studies examined the immediate effects of exercise on attention and concentration in the classroom. All of these studies showed a positive effect. This means that children remain concentrated for longer when they exercise during the day. One study compared different durations of exercise and concluded that 20 minutes of free play resulted in longer attention and concentration in the classroom than 30 minutes of free play. These conclusions come from studies involving children aged 3 to 5. Studies involving younger age groups were not eligible for this review due to the research methods used.
Further research
More high-quality studies are needed to reach stronger and well-founded conclusions about the relationship between exercise and growth and development in young children. More attention to the youngest age category (0–3 years) is important, as the fewest studies are available for this group. Although more research is needed, this study has demonstrated that exercise has positive effects on the motor and cognitive development of children under five. More research is needed to determine whether such effects also exist for body composition and socio-emotional development.
Read the complete study here.
Also read here the article on Alles over Sport by the authors of the factsheet—Rebecca Beck and Kirsten de Klein—who also contributed to the study.
Source: Knowledge Centre for Sport.