Niveles de condición física y rendimiento académico escolar

Resumo

Introduction: The increase of sedentary tasks and activities of our era leads to a decrease in the physical activity levels from early age, contributing to a decrease in the physical fitness levels of youth, negatively influencing health and factors such as motivation in the school environment, which can have negative repercussions on the academic performance. Objective: the objective of this study was to analyze the correlation between the physical fitness levels of Ecuadorian students and their academic performance. Methods: A total of 29 Ecuadorian students from the 7 year of primary education (11.030.42 years old. 44.8% girls, 55.2% children) from the city of Guano (Ecuador) participated in this study. Body composition and physical fitness were evaluated using the validated ALPHA FITNESS Battery for children and adolescents. All the evaluations of the tests were categorized from very low to very high valuation. Academic performance was assessed by the final grade point average of the academic year. Correlations were performed between the results of the different fitness tests and the final score average using the statistical program spss v.22, IBM, USA. Results: Physical fitness levels were predominantly low in the study population, mainly in relation to hand-grip strength, where 93.10% of the sample had a very low assessment. Only for standing long jump test (lower limbs strength), 4x10-m test (agility-speed) and 20-m shuttle run (cardiovascular fitness), a low percentage of the sample showed a high valuation (13.79%, 10.34% and 10.36%, respectively). The average academic grade was 8,45011. Cardiorespiratory fitness measured by the 20-m shuttle run showed a positive, moderate and significant correlation (p = 0.016) with the academic performance variable. The remaining physical condition variables did not show significant correlation. Conclusions: Physical fitness levels in Ecuadorian primary education students are predominantly low, especially in relation to hand-grip strength. However, there appears to be a moderate and positive correlation between cardiorespiratory fitness measured by the 20-m shuttle run test and school academic performance. Government strategies should promote the improvement of physical fitness levels in Ecuadorian schoolchildren to ensure their general and cognitive health, as well as their academic performance.