Aerobic fitness and its relationship to memory function and academic achievement: A review of evidence

Academic achievement is one of the main objectives of educational programs and the most important concern of education administrators and families. The education administrator's emphasis on courses other than physical education as a means for the students to get better overall scores results in a general neglect toward physical education or its elimination from curricula due to reasons such as shortage of funds. Physical activity is claimed to affect the structure of the brain and improve memory function and ultimately lead to academic achievement. The purpose of the present review study is to examine the current evidence on the relationship between aerobic fitness and academic achievement. Different articles and papers were accessed through databases and search engines such as ‎Google Scholar‎, PubMed and Elsevier and using keywords such as “academic achievement”, “aerobic fitness” and “memory”. The articles used were published between 1998 and 2014. The hippocampus function is an important factor in the consolidation of short-term and long-term memory and is severely affected by neurotransmitters and hormones. Physical activities at an intensity higher than average have a strong effect on the release and regulation of hormones and neurotransmitters and thus improve the memory function indirectly. Studies have shown that physical activity has a positive effect on scores obtained in different courses, particularly in mathematics, through increasing the aerobic capacity. The aerobic fitness following regular physical activity not only leads to general health and reduces the risk factors of health and the incidence of diseases, but also improves the memory function and ultimately leads to academic achievement through affecting the brain structure; physical education courses should therefore be more emphasized at schools.