Association between executive function, intellectual maturity and physical fitness in preschoolchildren

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to understand the evolutionary profile of the executive function (EF) and the intellectual maturity (IM) in relation to the physical-motor condition in preschool children. A group of 81 children, 3-6 years old, participated in the project (44 boys and 37 girls). Regarding the testing protocol, tests for assessing physical fitness were included (i.e., strength, balance, speed, resistance and reaction time). The EF and the IM were analyzed with the Porteus Maze test and the Goodenough test, respectively. The results showed an age effect on both cognitive variables and physical fitness, with significant differences between those variables between age groups. Additionally, the regression analysis reported a significant association between physical fitness (i.e., sprint, handgrip strength and reaction time) and the FE and the MI. In summary, the results obtained suggest a parallelism between the EF and IM with the development of physical fitness.