title: Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Suspected Motor Problems and Low Preference for Active Play in Childhood Are Associated with Physical Inactivity and Low Fitness in Adolescence Fitness, fatness, cognition, behavior, and academic achievement among overweight children: do cross-sectional associations correspond to exercise trial outcomes? Body mass index, fitness and physical activity from childhood through adolescence Longitudinal Relationship between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Academic Achievement. Physical activity and obesity mediate the association between childhood motor function and adolescents’ academic achievement
abstract: BACKGROUND Previous observational and interventional studies have suggested that regular physical exercise may be associated with reduced symptoms of depression . However , the extent to which exercise training may reduce depressive symptoms in older patients with major depressive disorder ( MDD ) has not been systematic ally evaluated . OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of an aerobic exercise program compared with st and ard medication ( ie , antidepressants ) for treatment of MDD in older patients , we conducted a 16-week r and omized controlled trial . METHODS One hundred fifty-six men and women with MDD ( age , > or = 50 years ) were assigned r and omly to a program of aerobic exercise , antidepressants ( sertraline hydrochloride ) , or combined exercise and medication . Subjects underwent comprehensive evaluations of depression , including the presence and severity of MDD using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fourth Edition criteria and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression ( HAM-D ) and Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ) scores before and after treatment . Secondary outcome measures included aerobic capacity , life satisfaction , self-esteem , anxiety , and dysfunctional cognitions . RESULTS After 16 weeks of treatment , the groups did not differ statistically on HAM-D or BDI scores ( P = .67 ) ; adjustment for baseline levels of depression yielded an essentially identical result . Growth curve models revealed that all groups exhibited statistically and clinical ly significant reductions on HAM-D and BDI scores . However , patients receiving medication alone exhibited the fastest initial response ; among patients receiving combination therapy , those with less severe depressive symptoms initially showed a more rapid response than those with initially more severe depressive symptoms . CONCLUSIONS An exercise training program may be considered an alternative to antidepressants for treatment of  depression in older persons . Although antidepressants may facilitate a more rapid initial therapeutic response than exercise , after 16 weeks of treatment exercise was equally effective in reducing depression among patients with MDD Background This prospect i ve longitudinal study investigates whether suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with  physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence . Methodology /Principal Findings The study sample consisted of the Northern Finl and Birth Cohort 1986 ( NFBC 1986 ) composed of 5,767 children whose parents responded to a postal inquiry concerning their children 's motor skills at age 8 years and who themselves reported their physical activity at age 16 years .  Cardiorespiratory fitness  was measured with a  cycle ergometer test at age 16 years . Odds ratios ( OR ) and their 95 % confidence intervals ( 95 % CI ) for the level of physical activity and fitness were obtained from multinomial logistic regression and adjusted for socio-economic position and body mass index . Low preference for active play in childhood was associated with physical inactivity ( boys : OR 3.31 , 95 % CI 2.42–4.53 ; girls : OR 1.79 , 95 % CI 1.36–2.36 ) and low cardiorespiratory fitness ( boys : OR 1.87 , 95 % CI 1.27–2.74 ; girls : OR 1.52 , 95 % CI 1.09–2.11 ) in adolescence . Suspected gross ( OR 2.16 , 95 % CI 1.33–3.49 ) and fine ( OR 1.88 , 95 % CI 1.35–2.60 ) motor problems were associated with physical inactivity among boys . Children with suspected motor problems and low preference for active play  tended to have an even higher risk of physical inactivity in adolescence . Conclusions / Significance Low preference for active play in childhood was associated with physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence . Furthermore , children with suspected motor problems and low preference for active play tended to have an even higher risk of physical inactivity in adolescence . Identification of children who do not prefer active play and who have motor problems may allow targeted interventions to support their motor learning and participation in active play and thereby promote their physical activity and fitness in later life BACKGROUND This study examined associations of fitness and fatness with cognitive processes , academic achievement , and behavior , independent of demographic factors , at the baseline of an exercise trial . METHODS Overweight , sedentary but otherwise healthy 7 - 11 year olds ( N=170 ) participated in a study of health , cognition and achievement in the Augusta , GA area from 2003 - 2006 . Children underwent evaluations of fatness and fitness , psychological assessment s of cognition and academic achievement , and behavior ratings by parents and teachers . Partial correlations examined associations of fitness and fatness with cognitive and achievement scores and behavior ratings , controlling for demographic factors . RESULTS Fitness was associated with better cognition , achievement and behavior , and fatness with worse scores . Specifically , executive function , mathematics and reading achievement , and parent ratings of child behavior were related to fitness and fatness . Teacher ratings were related to fitness . CONCLUSION These results extend prior studies by providing reliable , st and ardized measures of cognitive processes , achievement , and behavior in relation to detailed measures of fitness and fatness . However , cross-sectional associations do not necessarily indicate that improving one factor , such as fatness or fitness , will result in improvements in factors that were associated with it . Thus , r and omized clinical trials are necessary to determine the effects of interventions Background Obesity , sedentary lifestyle and poor cardiorespiratory fitness in childhood may increase the risk of health problems later in life . Purpose The authors studied the association of early childhood weight status with cardiorespiratory fitness and leisure-time physical activity ( LTPA ) in adolescence . The stability and associations of LTPA and fitness from childhood through adolescence were also studied . Methods  Body mass index ( BMI ) was assessed annually since birth in a prospect i ve , longitudinal study . The mean BMI between ages 2 and 7 years indicated weight status at preschool age . Fitness was studied with a shuttle run test at age 9 and with a maximal cycle ergometer test at age 17 . The same question naire was used to assess LTPA at age 9 , 13 and 17 . Complete data on preschool BMI , LTPA at ages 13 and 17 and fitness at age 17 years was provided by 351 children , while fitness and LTPA data were available for 74 children at ages 9 and 17 . Results Preschool BMI was inversely associated with fitness in adolescence independently of adolescent LTPA ( p=0.0001 ) . Children who had a high preschool BMI but whose weight status was reduced in adolescence had similar fitness in adolescence as the children with a persistently low BMI . Regardless of the fitness level in childhood , the children whose LTPA increased between age 9 and 17 had a similar adolescent fitness level as persistently active subjects . Conclusions It is important to maintain a healthy body weight and a physically active lifestyle from very childhood through adolescence to improve fitness during adolescence PURPOSE The aim of this study was to examine the prospect i ve associations between cardiorespiratory fitness ( CRF ) and academic achievement  in the youth . METHODS The sample included 1286 fifth- , sixth- , and seventh- grade students , age 11 to 14 yr ( Mage = 11.3 ± 1.1 ) , from 14 schools followed for 3 yr . Academic achievement was assessed using the students ' marks at baseline and at follow-up 3 yr apart , in Portuguese , mathematics , foreign language ( English ) , and science . CRF was assessed by the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run test from the Fitnessgram battery . Students were classified as fit-fit , unfit-fit , fit-unfit , and unfit-unfit according to the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run test results at baseline and follow-up . Ordinal regression analyses were performed to examine associations between CRF and academic achievement . RESULTS Being persistently fit ( fit-fit ) , compared with those classified unfit-unfit , increased the odds of having high levels of academic achievement in Portuguese ( odds ratio ( OR ) = 3.49 ; 95 % CI , 1.97 - 6.20 ; P < 0.001 ) and foreign language ( OR = 2.41 ; 95 % CI , 1.39 - 4.14 ; P < 0.01 ) at follow-up . Students that improved their CRF and became fit ( unfit-fit ) had also higher odds of achieving better marks than those persistently unfit-unfit in Portuguese ( OR = 2.52 ; 95 % CI , 1.42 - 4.45 ; P < 0.01 ) and foreign language ( OR = 2.13 ; 95 % CI , 1.23 - 3.67 ; P < 0.01 ) . CONCLUSION Consistently high and improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness are prospect ively associated with better academic achievement especially in mother tongue and foreign language The global epidemic of obesity and physical inactivity may have detrimental implication s for young people ’s  cognitive function and academic achievement . This prospect i ve study investigated whether childhood motor function predicts later academic achievement via physical activity , fitness , and obesity . The study sample included 8,061 children from the Northern Finl and Birth Cohort 1986 , which contains data about parent-reported motor function at age 8 y and self-reported physical activity , predicted cardiorespiratory fitness ( cycle ergometer test ) , obesity ( body weight and height ) , and academic achievement ( grade s ) at age 16 y.  Structural equation models with unst and ardized ( B ) and st and ardized ( β ) coefficients were used to test whether , and to what extent , physical activity , cardiorespiratory fitness , and obesity at age 16 mediated the association between childhood motor function and adolescents ’ academic achievement . Physical activity was associated with a higher grade -point average , and obesity was associated with a lower grade -point average in adolescence . Furthermore , compromised motor function in childhood had a negative indirect effect on adolescents ’ academic achievement via physical inactivity ( B = –0.023 , 95 % confidence interval = –0.031 , –0.015 ) and obesity ( B = –0.025 , 95 % confidence interval = –0.039 , –0.011 ) , but not via cardiorespiratory fitness . These results suggest that physical activity and obesity may mediate the association between childhood motor function and adolescents ’ academic achievement . Compromised motor function in childhood may represent an important factor driving the effects of obesity and physical inactivity on academic underachievement
target: There is strong evidence for a positive association between CRF and cluster of PF with AP in cross-sectional studies ; and evidence from longitudinal studies for a positive association between cluster of PF and AP ; the relationship between muscular strength and flexibility with AP remains uncertain
background: Physical fitness ( PF ) is a construct of health- and skill-related attributes which have been associated with academic performance ( AP ) in youth .
  This study aim ed to review the scientific evidence on the association among components of PF and AP  in children and adolescents .