Sci Rep. 2026 Jun 8. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-56729-6. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
The clustering of unhealthy movement behaviours is highly prevalent among adolescents and significantly impacts both health and academic outcomes. While evidence linking 24-hour Movement Guidelines to general academic outcomes is substantial, research specifically on arithmetic fluency remains limited. This cross-sectional study analysed 578 Spanish adolescents (aged 11-15 years) to quantify compliance with physical activity, screen time, and sleep recommendations and to explore the role of physical fitness in this relationship. Results revealed alarmingly low adherence: only 1% of adolescents meet all three health recommendations, while nearly half meet none. Results demonstrate a threshold effect, showing that adolescents who follow at least two guidelines achieve modest but significant higher scores in arithmetic fluency (B = 7.81, η²p = .015, p = .005). Notably, this academic advantage is statistically accounted for by higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, which is consistent with a mediating role in all comparisons (B from 0.88 to 2.43; all 95% CI exclude zero), whereas muscular fitness does not. Findings suggest promoting combined healthy habits may be more effective for cognitive development than targeting single behaviours. Integrating movement-based strategies into school environments could enhance potentially arithmetic fluency success by fostering the cardiorespiratory health necessary for optimal arithmetic learning.
PMID:42260090 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-56729-6
