Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists August 2016 Issue #86 | Page 2

PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD

The Journal of Attention Disorders published a meta-analysis on the possible beneficial effects
of exercise in alleviating ADHD functional outcomes in children. After searching various
databases, 10 studies for a total of 300 participants on the effects of physical exercise on motor
skills and executive functions in children with ADHD were included. The analysis revealed the
following:
1. exercise had a significant effect on functional outcomes, ie executive functions and
motor skills, in children with ADHD
2. longer exercise intervention duration was consistently associated with larger effect
sizes.
3. effect sizes were not related to exercise intensity, mean age of participants, or gender
distribution.
Reference: Ruta Vysniauske, Lot Verburgh, Jaap Oosterlaan, and Marc L. Molendijk. The Effects
of Physical Exercise on Functional Outcomes in the Treatment of ADHD: A MetaAnalysis. Journal of Attention Disorders1087054715627489, first published on February 9, 2016
doi:10.1177/1087054715627489

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