Exploring the Link between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement in College Students

The benefits of physical fitness are widely acknowledged and extend across many domains of wellness. The association between fitness and academic achievement, however, remains to be clarified, especially in college students. Purpose: To examine which aspects of student's fitness assessment are associated with their achievement on three different academic areas. Methods: National Physical Fitness & Health Criteria for Students (NPFHCS) measures aerobic capacity, abdominal strength, upper body strength and flexibility. Gender and a socio-economic status proxy were compared with mean group performance scores across three subscales: Higher Mathematics, English, and College Chinese of a province-wide standardized academic achievement test on a sample of 853 freshmen (50.3% male; mean age = 19.6years). Results: Achievement test scores were significantly better for students who were in the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) for aerobic capacity and abdominal strength tests when compared to students who were unable to achieve the healthy zone. Students in the HFZ for upper body strength performed significantly better in Higher Mathematics. Students in the HFZ, for flexibility performed significantly better in Higher Mathematics and College Chinese. When all NPFHCS measures were used in a full factorial ANOVA with Body Mass Index (BMI), gender and meal program (a proxy variable for socioeconomic status) as covariates, aerobic capacity was found to be the only fitness variable consistently appearing as important. It was always significant as a main effect variable while no other main effect fitness variable achieved significance for any HEUTJX subject. Two-way, three-way, and four-way interactions always included aerobic fitness and no other fitness measure was universal in these interactions. Discussion: Whereas, aerobic fitness appears universally important in academic success, additional mechanisms may be at work due to the several interactions that achieved significance. The interactions may be an indication of the importance of overall fitness in addition to aerobic fitness. Increased focus on ways to improve students' fitness :levels may create the need to reevaluate current policy recommendations for student's physical education.