Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Overweight Children's Cognitive Functioning: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The study tested the effect of aerobic exercise training on executive function in overweight children.Ninety-four sedentary, overweight but otherwise healthy children (mean age = 9.2 years, body mass index ≥ 85th percentile) were randomized to a low-dose (20 min/day exercise), high-dose (40 min/ day exercise), or control condition.Exercise sessions met 5 day/wk for 15 weeks.The Cognitive Assessment System (CAS), a standardized test of cognitive processes, was administered individually before and following intervention.Analysis of covariance on posttest scores revealed effects on executive function.Group differences emerged for the CAS Planning scale (p = .03).Planning scores for the high-dose group were significantly greater than those of the control group.Exercise may prove to be a simple, yet important, method of enhancing aspects of children's mental functioning that are central to cognitive and social development.