The World Health Organization and Fonds Gesundes Osterreich further specify guidelines indicating that children should devote at least 60 min a day to physical activity (such as going to school on foot, walking up-stairs, and cycling). The guidelines referring to physical activity in a report from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education emphasize that children should spend as much time as possible engaging in activities that require physical movement. For instance, research suggests that overweight adolescents who do not practice sports are more prone to risk behaviors, including suicide attempts and addiction to both alcohol and illicit drugs. There is increasing empirical evidence of a relationship between a lack of physical activity and mental health measures. Limited physical activity, or often a complete lack thereof, leads to various health problems, including posture problems (such as idiopathic scoliosis), somatic conditions, being overweight and obese, problems with circulation, and even premature death. The aim of such research is to raise awareness of the gravity of the problem, as well as to create a holistic health program that promotes being physically active in different contexts, including with family and in school. In times when children are less active, the significance of studies on the positive impact of sport on physical health, mental health, and cognitive functioning, is critical. This lifestyle leads them to neglect the physical activity that has been typical to this developmental period. Unlike children a few decades ago, children today are leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles that involve time spent on computers and watching TV. In recent years, there has been a shift in the lifestyles of various age-groups, including children, especially in their late childhood. Such knowledge would be useful in developing training programs for pre-adolescents, aimed at improving cognitive functions that may guide both researchers and practitioners relative to the wide range of benefits that result from physical activity. There is a paucity of publications that investigate the impact of sports on pre-adolescents’ cognitive functions, or explore which cognitive functions are developed by which sporting disciplines. Results suggest that engaging in sports in late childhood positively influences cognitive and emotional functions. The areas of attention, thinking, language, learning, and memory were analyzed relative to sports and childhood. Of the 617 results, 58 articles strictly connected to the main topics of physical activity and cognitive functioning were then reviewed. The keywords “children, cognition, cognitive function, physical activity, and brain” were searched for using PsycInfo, Medline, and Google Scholar, with publication dates ranging from January 2000 to November 2017. We present studies that demonstrate the influence of physical activity on health, especially a positive correlation between sports and cognitive functions. There is limited published research regarding the relationship between sports and cognitive functions in children. Childhood is an important and sensitive period for cognitive development.
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