The Relationship between Physical Activity, Self-Esteem, and Academic Achievement in 12-Year-Old Children

TLDR

The study investigated how 12‑year‑old children’s physical activity relates to BMI, self‑esteem, and academic achievement, controlling for sex, family structure, and socioeconomic status. Data came from a 1996 census of 6,923 Grade 6 students in New Brunswick, Canada, drawn from the Elementary School Climate Study and the provincial Grade 6 Assessment. Physical activity was inversely associated with BMI, positively linked to self‑esteem, and only weakly (trivially negatively) related to academic achievement, suggesting that its indirect benefits on learning may operate through improved health and self‑esteem.

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between children’s reported levels of physical activity, body-mass index, self-esteem, and reading and mathematics scores, while controlling for sex, family structure, and socioeconomic status. The data were collected from the full population of Grade 6 students ( N = 6,923) in New Brunswick (NB), Canada in 1996, as part of the Elementary School Climate Study, and the NB Department of Education’s Grade 6 Assessment. Physical activity had a negative relationship with body-mass index. Physical activity had a positive relationship with self-esteem, and a trivial negative relationship with academic achievement. The analysis revealed that both females and males who were more physically active had considerably higher levels of self-esteem. The study suggests that the relationship between physical activity and academic achievement is weak. For some children, physical activity may be indirectly related to enhanced academic performance by improving physical health and self-esteem.