Physical activity and academic performance outcomes: a longitudinal study

It is well established that physical activity levels are significantly associated with academic performance in children, however the literature surrounding links between physical activity and academic performance in adults, including mature students, is sparse. The aim of this study, therefore, is to assess associations between physical activity levels and academic performance in a cohort of mature students throughout one academic year.  

Students will be enrolled via the Student Research Project Panel and invited to undertake an online battery of questions, gathering demographic information and measures of physical activity. These will be conducted at several key time points across the academic year.  

Physical activity trends throughout the academic year will be assessed for significant changes at key points, as well as associations between physical activity levels and several academic performance metrics, including assignment grade, overall grade, and continuation to further study. Furthermore, subgroup analysis will be undertaken to determine differences between ethnicities, age, gender, and part-time versus full-time status.  

 The results of this study has the potential to inform future interventional studies, as well as provide novel information on physical activity levels in mature students, which we intend to report in a peer-reviewed journal paper, as well as present our results more widely via OU (and external) conferences.  

The primary aim of this study is to determine whether physical levels vary throughout the academic year, whether these changes coincide with academic milestones (e.g., around assignment deadlines), and whether there is a correlation between these and academic performance. Academic performance in this context will be purposefully broadly defined and will include several metrics, including: end of module grade, assignment grade, change in assignment grades, and continuation of study.