This study examined the relationship between physical activity and cognitive development in 18-30 month old children. The researchers found a positive correlation between weekly average moderate to vigorous physical activity and scores on the Bayley test, a measure of IQ, when accounting for gender. Girls had higher levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity than boys. No differences in cognitive outcomes were found between males and females. Most participants met the physical activity guidelines of 180 minutes per day, achieved through light physical activity. The study provides evidence that physical activity is positively associated with cognitive development in toddlers.

1. RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2015
www.PosterPresentations.com
• The most critical and intensive period of
neural development occurs in children
from zero to five years of age resulting in
rapid development in cognition, language,
and socio-emotional skills.
• Physical activity, ‘any bodily movement
produced by the skeletal muscles that
results in energy expenditure’ (Caspersen
et al., 1985), is being increasingly
recognized as an important determinant
of cognitive development in middle
childhood and adulthood.
• Only a few emerging studies on younger
children exist due to challenges with
assessing physical activity levels of
toddlers <3 years of age.
• Existing studies have shown that at least
one cognitive outcome was improved with
an increased duration and/or frequency
activity (Carson et al., 2015).
• As early childhood is the most active
period for the establishing of neural
connections, research into factors that
may alter cognitive development may
result in possible interventions to promote
healthy early development
INTRODUCTION
• To examine the relationship between
physical activity and cognitive
development (language acquisition,
social-emotional development, and
adaptive behaviour) in 18-30 month old
children.
OBJECTIVE
MATERIALS & METHODS
Physical Activity
Toddlers on average, engage
in a total of 230 minutes of
light (LPA) and moderate-to-
vigorous (MVPA) intensity
physical activity each day
(Fig. 5 & 6).
Cognitive Development
No difference in outcomes between male and female participants (Fig. 3, 4, 5)
RESULTS
KEY FINDINGS
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
• Positive correlations established between weekly
average MVPA and Bayley raw score, a measure of IQ,
when accounting for gender.
• Girls had a higher MVPA than boys.
• No difference in cognitive outcomes between male &
female participants .
• 90% of participants met the Australian physical
activity guidelines of 180 minutes of physical activity
per day, most of which was achieved through LPA.
1
Undergraduate
Summer
Research
Program
2
School
of
Science
and
Health
3
School
of
Social
Science
and
Psychology
4
The
MARCS
Ins/tute
for
Brain,
Behaviour
&
Development
Hillary
Nguyen1,2,
Jill
Hna/uk2,
Karen
MaUock3,4,
Marina
Kalashnikova4
Physical activity and cognitive development in the first years of life
24-­‐30
month
old
children
(N=28,
female
=
13)
(monolingual,
born
full-­‐term)
The
Bayley
Scales
of
Infant
Development
(Bayley)
used
to
measure
child’s
cogni/ve
ability
Parents
completed
OZI
(measure
of
toddler’s
early
recep/ve
and
produc/ve
vocabulary
size)
Parents
completed
the
ques/onnaire
of
frequency
of
engagement
in
ac/vi/es
(e.g.,
outdoor
play)
Infants
fiUed
with
Ac/graph
GT3+
Accelerometer,
worn
for
4
days
Total
words M3L
Weekly
AVG LPA
Weekly
AVG MVPA
Raw score
(Bayley) 0.777* 0.634^ 0.588 0.755*
Total words 0.652^ 0.347 0.779*
M3L 0.476 0.324
Weekly AVG
LPA 0.208
^ Trend (p < 0.10)
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
69
69.5
70
70.5
71
71.5
72
72.5
73
73.5
Male
Female
Raw
Score
Bayley
Raw
Score
310
315
320
325
330
335
340
Male
Female
Number
of
words
Total
Words
3.9
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
Male
Female
Mean
number
of
words
used
in
a
sentence
Mean
of
longest
3
sentences
(M3L)
0
50
100
150
200
250
Male
Female
Average
minutes
per
day
(minutes)
Average
minutes
spent
in
LPA
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Male
Female
Average
minutes
per
day
in
MVPA
(minutes)
Average
minutes
spent
in
MVPA
Figures 5 & 6: Average minutes spent in LPA (left) & MVPA (right) in males & females
Figures 3, 4, 5: Average Bayley raw score (left), word count from OZI (centre) and sentence length from OZI (right) for males and females
RESULTS
Table 1. Partial correlations (controlling for gender) between cognitive
development, language development and physical activity accounting for
gender (males n=7, females n=3)
CONCLUSIONS
Figure 1. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development Figure 2. Cognitive testing session with the Bayley Figure 3. Actigraph GT3+ accelerometer
REFERENCES
• Future research could consider other
scales for cognitive development that can
assessing development in other domains,
e.g., attention, motor functioning.
• Clear dose-response evidence obtained
can inform future updates to national
physical activity guidelines & initiate
intervention strategies to promote optimal
cognitive developed in toddlers.
Carson,
V,
Hunter,
S,
Kuzik,
N,
Wiebe,
S,
Spence,
J,
Friedman,
A
et
al.
2015,
‘SystemaXc
review
of
physical
acXvity
and
cogniXve
development
in
early
childhood’,
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Sci
Med
Sport,
vol.
15,
pp.
146-­‐8
Caspersen,
CJ,
Powell,
KE,
Christenson,
GM
1985,
‘Physical
acXvity,
exercise,
and
physical
fitness:
definiXons
and
disXncXons
for
health-­‐related
research’,
Public
Health
Reports’,
vol.
100,
no.
2,
pp.
126-­‐131
1
Corresponding
author:
Hillary
Nguyen,
School
of
Science
and
Health,
Western
Sydney
University
,
Australia.
E-­‐mail:
18065884@student.westernsydney.edu.au
Western
Sydney
University