Association Between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Cognition in Preschoolers: MOVI-HIIT Study
Question
Are components of health-related physical fitness associated with cognition in preschool children at baseline in the MOVI-HIIT study?
Summary
This baseline MOVI-HIIT analysis found that fitter preschool children generally had better scores on several cognitive tests. Because the analysis was cross-sectional and no exercise intervention had yet been delivered, it cannot show that HIIT or improved fitness caused better cognition.
Methodology
- Preschool children from nine Spanish schools.
- 522 participants.
- Cross-sectional baseline analysis within a cluster-randomized trial
- Cognition, and Health-related fitness were tracked.
Outcomes
Cognition associations
Higher fitness was generally associated with better cognitive scores.
All HRPF components correlated with cognitive domains, r=0.11-0.38, p<=0.050.
Working memory risk
No fitness component predicted low working-memory achievement after adjustment.
Insights
- Fitness-cognition links in preschoolers should be described as associative.
- This paper is background evidence, not protocol evidence.
Limitations
- Cross-sectional design prevents causal inference.
- Regional preschool sample limits generalizability.
- Unmeasured confounding may remain.
- Some preschool executive-function measurements may have limited differentiation.
Safety
- No exercise intervention was analyzed, so no training-related adverse events were reported.
- Ethics approval, school-board approval, and written family consent were reported.