ArticleScientific reports2025
Cross-lagged analysis of physical fitness and cognitive control in Chinese early adolescents.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Development and validation of a core competency framework for professional tennis coaches in China.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The association between a body shape index and cardiorespiratory fitness among adolescents in rural China: a sex-specific cross-sectional study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Relationships Among Mobile Internet Use, Social Support, and Depressive Symptoms: Prospective Cohort Study Among Community Residents.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
This study aims to explore the relationship between physical fitness levels and cognitive control in Chinese early adolescents, focusing on longitudinal analysis to understand how these variables interact over time. Additionally, the study investigates the moderating effect of gender on this relationship. The study included 160 junior high students (aged 12-14) with gender-balanced participation (64 boys, 79 girls retained after attrition). Utilizing a two-wave longitudinal design, baseline assessments (T1: March-April 2023) evaluated physical fitness through six indicators: body composition (BMI), cardiorespiratory endurance (gender-specific distance runs), vital capacity, speed (50 m sprint), muscular strength (gender-specific tests), and flexibility (sit-and-reach). Cognitive control was measured via: (1) Stroop Color-Word Task (interference inhibition), (2) Go/No-Go Task (impulse control), and (3) Task-Cueing paradigm (cognitive flexibility). Eight-month follow-up (T2: November-December 2023) retained 143 participants (mean age: 12.7 ± 0.52). Cross-lagged path modeling in Mplus 8.0 examined bidirectional causation relationships between fitness domains and cognitive functions, supplemented by SPSS 26.0-based correlational analyses. Descriptive statistics revealed that girls outperformed boys in several physical fitness and cognitive control measures. At T1, girls had significantly higher physical fitness levels (M = 82.51, SD = 8.09) compared to boys (M = 72.19, SD = 10.44, P < 0.001) and performed better in interference inhibition (P < 0.001) and impulse control (P < 0.01). At T2, girls maintained higher physical fitness levels (P < 0.001), but boys demonstrated better cognitive flexibility (M = 802.54, SD = 318.08 vs. M = 983.10, SD = 239.49, P < 0.001). Correlation analysis showed significant associations between physical fitness and cognitive control, including negative correlations with interference inhibition (r = - 0.582, P < 0.01, indicating that higher fitness levels correspond to lower interference suppression IES scores reflecting better inhibitory control) and cognitive flexibility (r = - 0.548, P < 0.01, indicating that higher fitness levels correspond to lower cognitive flexibility IES scores reflecting better cognitive flexibility), and a positive correlation with impulse control (r = 0.282, P < 0.01). Cross-lagged analysis indicated that physical fitness at T1 significantly predicted interference inhibition (β = - 0.234, P < 0.05), impulse control (β = 0.148, P < 0.05), and cognitive flexibility (β = - 0.499, P < 0.01) at T2. Gender differences analysis revealed that the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive flexibility was significant for boys (P = 0.036, < 0.05) but not for girls. These findings highlight the importance of physical fitness in enhancing cognitive control capabilities during adolescence. The results provide a theoretical foundation for policymakers and educational institutions to prioritize comprehensive physical education programs to foster healthy youth development.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.