The Role of Physical Activity in Supporting Adolescent Neurocognitive and Psycho-Emotional Development The following paper discusses (1) the role of physical activity in supporting adolescent neurocognitive and psycho-emotional development, (2) the benefits of classroom-based physical activity for children in elementary school and the promising translation to adolescents in high school, and (3) the potential factors that have led researchers to focus on the benefits of classroom-based physical activity mainly for children, despite potentially similar benefits for adolescents.Ģ. In this paper, we aim to describe the potential benefits of conducting research on the impact of physically active high school classrooms and to highlight the challenges and possible misconceptions related to conducting this research. Research must be extended to high school settings so that adolescents can begin to have access to evidence-based physical activity interventions in their classrooms. However, this work has not extended to high school classrooms, despite adolescents constituting one of the most sedentary portions of the population, and ample evidence demonstrating the critical role that physical activity plays in supporting healthy adolescent development. More specifically, a great deal of research has focused on evaluating how integrating physical activity into elementary school classrooms can reduce sedentary behaviour and improve academic achievement and overall well-being among children. ![]() Given the growing rate of sedentary behaviour among children in many parts of the world, and the corresponding consequences for children’s well-being, many researchers and policy makers have turned to classrooms as potential avenues to increase children’s physical activity behaviour. One of the main reasons for this interest is because of the overwhelming evidence showing a positive relationship between physical activity, brain functioning and cognitive performance across the lifespan. The last several decades have seen a rapid growth of interest in elucidating the relationship between physical activity and cognitive functioning in children (3–11 years of age), adolescents (12–18 years of age) and older adults (65 years of age). Specifically, we review research on the role of physical activity in adolescent development, the benefits of classroom-based physical activity for children, and discuss the factors that may have led researchers to focus on classroom-based physical activity primarily for children, despite the potentially similar benefits for adolescents. In this paper, we describe the benefits of conducting research on the impact of physically active high school classrooms, and highlight the challenges and potential misconceptions associated with research in this field. ![]() However, this promising area of research has not extended to adolescents and high school classrooms. Among children, integrating physical activity into elementary school classrooms has been shown to reduce sedentary behaviour and improve academic achievement and overall physical and mental health. However, adolescence constitutes a period of frequent sedentary behaviour. Adolescence represents a sensitive period whereby lifestyle factors such as physical activity can have profound, long-lasting effects on development and later life habits.
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