A project of the Afterschool Alliance.

Effects of the FITKids randomized controlled trial on executive control and brain function

Year Published: 2014

A randomized control study of 221 children participating in the Fitness Improves Thinking in Kids (FITKids) program, a nine-month afterschool physical activity program. Students participating in FITKids in their afterschool program increased their physical fitness by 6 percent compared to less than 1 percent improvement by students not participating in the program. Students in the afterschool program also improved their ability to pay attention, avoid distraction, and switch between cognitive tasks.

Scope of the Evaluation: Local

Program Type: Afterschool

Location: Urbana, IL

Grade level: Elementary School

Program Demographics: Fifty-three percent of study participants were girls, and 43 percent were considered categorized as having low socio-economic status. More than half of participants were Caucasian (51 percent), 25 percent were African-American, 17 percent were Asian, 10 percent were Hispanic, and 16 percent were mixed race or other. Forty-four percent of participants were diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Evaluator: Hillman, C. H., Pontifex, M. B., Castelli, D. M., Khan, N. A., Raine, L.B., Scudder, M. R., Drollette, E. S., Moore, R. D., Wu, C., & Kamijo, K.

Evaluation Methods: Two hundred twenty-one children ages 7 to 9 years old were randomly assigned to the Fitness Improves Thinking in Kids (FITKids) afterschool program, a nine-month afterschool physical activity program, or a wait-list control group. At the beginning of the study, participants’ IQ, body mass index (BMI), physical fitness, attention span, and cognitive flexibility were measured. Participants in the afterschool program completed at least 70 minutes of intensive physical activity every day afterschool. Changes in fitness (maximal oxygen consumption), electrical activity in the brain, and behavioral measures (accuracy, reaction time) of executive control were collected. Accuracy and reaction were evaluated using speed match tests.

Evaluation Type: Experimental

Summary of Outcomes: Students participating in Fitness Improves Thinking in Kids (FITKids) in their afterschool program saw improvements in their physical fitness when compared to students who did not participate in the program. Comparing FITKids participants’ fitness at the start of the program and at the end of the program, they increased their physical fitness score by 6 percent compared to less than 1 percent improvement by students not participating in the program over the same course of time. Both groups exhibited increases in their body mass index (BMI), but increases were significantly greater for the wait-list group than for program participants.

Students in the afterschool program also improved their ability to pay attention, avoid distraction, and switch between cognitive tasks, with students who had higher levels of participation showing greater cognitive gains. The authors concluded that findings from the study show the causal effect of physical activity on improving children’s cognitive functions.