Associations of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Enjoyment of Physical Activity with Children’s Literacy

Abstract
Evidence is growing that physical activity can impact cognitive functioning. This study examined the associations between physical activity, sedentary behavior and attitude toward physical activity on measures of literacy. Community literacy center participants (n = 20, mean age = 9.5 yrs.) wore accelerometers for three days and completed the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). Decoding (DC), comprehension (COMP), and general reading (GR) scores from the Gray Diagnostic Reading Tests-2 nd edition were obtained. Associations between total minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), percentage of time spent in sedentary behaviors (ST), PACES, steps per minute (SPM), BMI-z, DC, COMP, and GR were examined. Children engaged in 50.9 minutes per day of MVPA. The correlation between steps per minute and GR was (.33). COMP was mildly correlated with SPM (.274). There was a mild inverse relationship between BMI-z and both COMP (-.21) and GR (-.17). An inverse relationship was found between PACES and ST (-.31). Modest relationships between activity and literacy values were found indicating the need for further study of the relationships between habitual physical activity and literacy.