Meta-analysis: Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning of Children: Does Physical Activity Improve the Working Memory of Children?

Existing literature suggests that physical activity positively influences children's cognitive abilities, particularly working memory. This meta-analysis replicates and expands upon the findings of Vasilopoulos et al. (2023) regarding the effects of physical activity on working memory, incorporating eleven studies: nine from the original analysis and two additional studies (Zhang et al., 2022; Dring et al., 2022). These additional studies were included based on criteria that they were published within the past decade and specifically examined the relationship between physical activity and working memory in children. To address variations in working memory measures across studies, a standardized mean difference was applied to calculate effect sizes, with Hedges's g used to account for sample bias. The results provide significant evidence that physical activity positively impacts children's working memory. However, observed heterogeneity highlights the need for future research to standardize measurement tools for both physical activity and working memory in order to improve reliability.

现有研究文献表明，体育运动对儿童的认知能力存在积极影响，其中尤以工作记忆领域最为显著。本项元分析（meta-analysis）对Vasilopoulos等人（2023）关于体育运动对儿童工作记忆影响的研究结论进行了重复验证与拓展，共纳入11项相关研究：其中9项来自该原始元分析，另外2项为新增研究（Zhang等，2022；Dring等，2022）。新增研究的纳入标准为：发表于近十年内，且专门针对儿童群体探究体育运动与工作记忆之间的关联。为消除不同研究中工作记忆测量工具差异带来的影响，本研究采用标准化均数差计算效应量，并使用赫奇斯g值（Hedges's g）校正样本偏差。研究结果提供了充分的实证证据，证实体育运动对儿童工作记忆具有积极作用。然而，本分析观测到的研究异质性也提示，未来相关研究需统一体育运动与工作记忆的测量工具，以提升研究结果的可靠性。