The effects of a school-based physical activity intervention programme on children's executive control: The Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP)

Abstract

Aims: To assess the effects of a large school-based physical activity intervention on children's ability to resist distractions and maintain focus, known as executive control.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design with seven intervention and two control primary schools. The Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP) intervention consisted of 45 min of physical activity a day during school time for 6-8 months in addition to the regular weekly physical education lessons. A total of 1173 children, spanning from second grade (age 7 years) to sixth grade (age 12 years) were included in the analysis. Main outcome measures were executive control was measured at baseline and 1 year after using a modified Eriksen flanker task for the younger children (second and third grades) and a computerised Stroop task for the older children (fourth, fifth, and sixth grades).

Results: Both the intervention and control group showed improvements in executive control after 1 year. However, the children in the intervention group did not improve their performance more than those in the control group.

Conclusions: No positive effect of the physical activity intervention programme on children's task performance was found, suggesting that the intervention did not affect children's executive control.

Keywords: Executive control; children; cognitive control; executive function; exercise; intervention; physical activity; preventive health services; school.