Vigorous Physical Activity is Positively Correlated With Grade Point Average in College-Age Females

A growing body of evidence suggests that regular physical activity is positively correlated to academic achievement in children and adolescents. Among college students, few studies have examined the relationship between overall physical activity levels and academic achievement - generally reflected in grade point average. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if typical weekly physical activity (PA) levels were correlated with academic performance among full-time college-aged females during the spring semester. METHODS: Thirty full-time, female (18-23 years) students enrolled in one of several upper Midwest universities, and who did not participate in a varsity sport, were recruited for the study. Walking and moderate and vigorous intensity PA (METs/week) were assessed by the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ). Grade point average (GPA) was obtained by self-report questionnaire, along with age, year in school, number of classes in spring semester, class hours per day, study hours per day, and working (employment) hours per week. RESULTS: The participants reported a mean GPA of 3.2 (±0.4), were enrolled in 4.2 (±0.5) semester courses and studied 2.8 (±1.0) hours per day. The participants reported the following METs per week of activity: 1436.1 (±739.2) walking, 244.7 (±695.6) moderate intensity PA, 1877.3 (±1438.6) vigorous intensity PA, and 3566.7 (±2005.1) total PA. After controlling for hours studying, there was a significant positive bivariate correlation between GPA and total physical activity METs (r=0.802; p =0.00), as well as GPA and vigorous-intensity PA METs (r=0.783; p=0.00). However, there was no significant correlation between GPA and walking or moderate intensity PA METs. These correlations were present before controlling for study time. CONCLUSIONS: We showed that typical weekly total and vigorous-intensity physical activity levels were positively associated with GPA among full-time female college students. In addition to the positive health benefits, these results suggest that vigorous intensity physical activity may be an important component in higher academic achievement among female college students. The underpinnings of this relationship should be further examined in future studies.