title: Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Academic Performance: Cross-Lagged Associations from Adolescence to Young Adulthood.
abstract: Physical activity and academic performance are positively associated, but the direction of the association is poorly understood. This longitudinal study examined the direction and magnitude of the associations between leisure-time physical activity and academic performance throughout adolescence and young adulthood. The participants were Finnish twins (from 2,859 to 4,190 individuals/study wave) and their families. In a cross-lagged path model, higher academic performance at ages 12, 14 and 17 predicted higher leisure-time physical activity at subsequent time-points (standardized path coefficient at age 14: 0.07 (p < 0.001), age 17: 0.12 (p < 0.001) and age 24: 0.06 (p < 0.05)), whereas physical activity did not predict future academic performance. A cross-lagged model of co-twin differences suggested that academic performance and subsequent physical activity were not associated due to the environmental factors shared by co-twins. Our findings suggest that better academic performance in adolescence modestly predicts more frequent leisure-time physical activity in late adolescence and young adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 54, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Sari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aaltonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Latvala
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 East 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40014 University of Jyvaskyla, Finland.
authors.forename: Urho M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Medicine (FIMM), University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Jaakko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaprio
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 54, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Karri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Silventoinen
mesh_terms: D000073978:Academic Performance; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic; D055815:Young Adult