Kojić Filip, Šoškić Anđela, Radin Ivana, Mandić Danimir, Grujić Gabrijela, Đurić Saša
Faculty of Education, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Ministry of Education, Office for Dual Education and National Qualifications for Framework, Belgrade, Serbia.
BMC Pediatr. 2025 Jun 9;25(1):469. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05799-y.
This study utilized a replicated measurement approach to comprehensively explore the connections between various aspects of physical fitness and executive functions in prepubescent children.
The sample consisted of 62 students (32 boys, 30 girls, aged 10.44 ± 0.33 years) with assessments of physical fitness and executive functions conducted at two time points 4 months apart. Physical fitness assessment involved evaluating body composition (body-mass index, fat mass, fat-free mass) and measures of motor coordination (Obstacle Course Backward test), strength (Long Standing Jump test), speed of movement (Plate Tapping test), and aerobic fitness (20 m Shuttle Run test). Executive functions, specifically inhibition and cognitive flexibility, were evaluated using the Modified Stroop task and Trail Making task, respectively.
Initial measurements showed only low correlations (r = 0.12-0.20) between the Plate Tapping and Shuttle Run with executive function tasks, which did not reach statistical significance, while other connections were consistently trivial. In the follow-up measurement, the Plate Tapping test showed a moderate correlation (r = 0.39) with the Stroop task, while remaining correlations were either negligible or low and not significant. The findings suggest two important conclusions: (i) body composition shows limited association with executive functions in children; (ii) among motor variables, only the speed of limb movement may have some relevance for inhibition, but this association is relatively modest and inconsistent.
Overall, the morphological status and motor competence of prepubertal children seem to have minimal effects on cognitive tasks involving inhibition and cognitive flexibility, and vice versa.
本研究采用重复测量方法，全面探究青春期前儿童身体素质各方面与执行功能之间的联系。
样本包括62名学生（32名男孩，30名女孩，年龄10.44 ± 0.33岁），在相隔4个月的两个时间点对身体素质和执行功能进行评估。身体素质评估包括评估身体成分（体重指数、脂肪量、去脂体重）以及运动协调性测量（障碍跑道后退测试）、力量（立定跳远测试）、运动速度（敲击盘子测试）和有氧适能（20米穿梭跑测试）。执行功能，特别是抑制和认知灵活性，分别使用改良斯特鲁普任务和连线测验进行评估。
初始测量显示，敲击盘子测试和穿梭跑测试与执行功能任务之间仅存在低相关性（r = 0.12 - 0.20），未达到统计学显著性，而其他联系始终微不足道。在后续测量中，敲击盘子测试与斯特鲁普任务显示出中等相关性（r = 0.39），而其余相关性要么可忽略不计，要么较低且不显著。研究结果表明两个重要结论：（i）身体成分与儿童执行功能的关联有限；（ii）在运动变量中，只有肢体运动速度可能与抑制有一定相关性，但这种关联相对较小且不一致。
总体而言，青春期前儿童的形态状况和运动能力似乎对涉及抑制和认知灵活性的认知任务影响极小，反之亦然。
