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Research Article: Students’ aerobic fitness, self-regulation, and mathematical performance in primary school

Date Published: 2026-10-07

Abstract:
This study examined the relationships between aerobic fitness, behavioral self-regulation, and mathematics performance in primary school students, and evaluated the effect of a 10-month school-based Physical activity intervention on self-regulation. The Active School study was a ten-month cluster-randomized controlled trial. The sample consisted of 435 students (9–10–years old) in five intervention schools and four control schools. Teachers assessed students’ self-regulation using the Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS), at pre- and post-intervention. Aerobic fitness was assessed with a 10-minute interval running test, and mathematical achievement was determined using Norwegian national standardized tests in mathematics. Partial correlations indicated that aerobic fitness was significantly correlated with self-regulation ( r =?0.22, p <?.001) and with mathematics scores ( r =?0.17, p <?0.01). Linear mixed models showed that self-regulation was consistently positively associated with mathematics performance (B?=?0.54, (95%) CI [0.44, 0.64], p <?0.001). Aerobic fitness was positively associated with mathematics performance in partially adjusted models (B?=?0.15, (95%) CI [0.006, 0.23], p <?0.001) but this association was no longer significant after adjusting for gender (B?=??3.69, (95%) CI [?5.47, ?1.19], p <?0.001). No significant improvements in students’ behavioral self-regulation compared to the control group were observed. The findings suggest that while cognitive-behavioral processes strongly drive academic performance, standard school-based physical activity programs may lack the necessary cognitive complexity to enhance independent self-regulatory capacities in fifth-grade students.

Introduction:
Physical activity interventions are associated with multiple physiological, cognitive, and academic benefits to children. However, the magnitude of these effects varies with intervention characteristics ( 1 ). Physical Active Learning (PAL) formats, which integrate academic content with movement, have recently been shown to have particular promise for improving academic performance and academic outcomes, especially among students with weaker initial mathematical skills ( 2 ) and those with worse health indicators…

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