The Relationship Among Aerobic Capacity, Body Composition, and Academic Achievement of Fourth and Fifth Grade Hispanic Students

Research has shown positive relationships between academic achievement and both physical activity and physical fitness. However, none of this research has focused on students from Hispanic backgrounds. Therefore, it is important to investigate the contributions of health-related fitness measures on Hispanic students' academic performance. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship of aerobic capacity and body composition with academic achievement in Hispanic elementary school children. Participants in the study were 155 Hispanic school children (84 boys and 71 girls), aged 9 to 13, in the fourth and fifth grade at an urban elementary school in southeast Texas. Health-related fitness measures included aerobic capacity, body mass index, and percent body fat. Academic achievement variables included reading and math final percentage grades. Correlations and stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to analyze the relationship between the variables. Analyses were conducted on the whole sample and by gender. Pearson correlations revealed a significant positive relationship (r = .26, p = .022) between aerobic capacity and math performance for girls. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis also revealed that aerobic capacity was a significant predictor of math performance in girls, F(1, 69) = 6.15, and yielded the following equation to predict the math grade: MATH = (78.03) + (.26) (AC); R2 = .08; adjusted R-2 = .06, SEE = 7.31; p = .016. These findings suggest that aerobic capacity positively effects math performance in fourth and fifth grade Hispanic elementary school girls.