Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Current Psychiatry Reports
Published in: Current Psychiatry Reports 12/2016

01-12-2016 | Attention-Deficit Disorder (A Rostain, Section Editor)

Using Physical Activity to Manage ADHD Symptoms:The State of the Evidence

Authors: Betsy Hoza, Caroline P. Martin, Anna Pirog, Erin K. Shoulberg

Published in: Current Psychiatry Reports | Issue 12/2016

Login to get access

Abstract

This article summarizes the evidence for management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using chronic aerobic physical activity (PA). Known studies comparing chronic aerobic PA to at least one control group are listed; uncontrolled studies and studies of non-aerobic PA are not considered. Key challenges to conducting chronic PA studies with children and youth with ADHD are summarized. After condensing information from widely varying studies, measures, and research designs, conclusions are stated in broad brush stroke terms. Preliminary evidence supports PA as beneficial for ADHD symptoms, executive function, and motor abilities. Social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes also may benefit. The preliminary state of the evidence supports PA as an adjunctive treatment for ADHD at this time, but the body and sophistication of the research to date is insufficient at present to support PA as a stand-alone treatment. Critical directions for future research are discussed.
Literature
1.
Bustamante EE, Krafft CE, Schaeffer DJ, McDowell JE, Davis CL. The effect of regular exercise on cognition in special populations of children: overweight and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In: McMorris T, editor. Exercise-cognition interaction: neuroscience perspectives. San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press; 2016. p. 435–57.CrossRef
2.
Gapin JI, Labban JD, Etnier JL. The effects of physical activity on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: the evidence. Prev Med Int J Devoted Prac Theory. 2011;52:70–4.CrossRef
3.
••O’Neill SC, Berwid OG, Bedard A-CV. The exercise–cognition interaction and ADHD. In: McMorris T, editor. Exercise-cognition interaction: neuroscience perspectives. San Diego: Elsevier; 2016. p. 375–98. Recent review article summarizing rationale for how and why PA may positively impact ADHD.CrossRef
4.
Halperin JM, Healey DM. The influences of environmental enrichment, cognitive enhancement, and physical exercise on brain development: can we alter the developmental trajectory of ADHD? Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011;35(3):621–34.CrossRefPubMed
5.
••Halperin JM, Berwid OG, O’Neill S. Healthy body, healthy mind?: the effectiveness of physical activity to treat ADHD in children. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2014;23(4):899–936. One of the most comprehensive reviews of the effects of PA on ADHD.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Berwid OG, Halperin JM. Emerging support for a role of exercise in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder intervention planning. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2012;14(5):543–51.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
7.
Halperin JM. Joggin’ for your noggin: the role of physical activity in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015;54(7):537–8.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Ahmed G, Mohamed S. Effect of regular aerobic exercise on behavioral, cognitive and psychological response in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Life Scie J. 2011;8(2):366–71.
9.
•Bustamante EE, Davis CL, Frazier SL, Rusch D, Fogg LF, Atkins MS, et al. Randomized controlled trial of exercise for ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(7):1397–407. Recent randomized trial of PA in the context of a multicomponent intervention.CrossRefPubMed
10.
•Choi JW, Han DH, Kang KD, Jung HY, Renshaw PF. Aerobic exercise and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: brain research. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014;47(1):33–9. Examines PA vs. psychoeducation added to stimulant medication; demonstrates that PA can improve upon the effects of medication.CrossRef
11.
••Hoza B, Smith AL, Shoulberg EK, Linnea KS, Dorsch TE, Blazo JA, et al. A randomized trial examining the effects of aerobic physical activity on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in young children. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2015;43(4):655–67. Largest randomized clinical trial to date of the effects of PA on ADHD symptoms and impairments; compares PA to a sedentary classroom intervention.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
12.
Kang K, Choi J, Kang S, Han D. Sports therapy for attention, cognitions and sociality. Int J Sports Med. 2011;32(12):953–9.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Chang Y-K, Hung C-L, Huang C-J, Hatfield BD, Hung T-M. Effects of an aquatic exercise program on inhibitory control in children with ADHD: a preliminary study. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2014;29(3):217–23.CrossRefPubMed
14.
McKune A, Pautz J, Lomjbard J. Behavioural response to exercise in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. South African J Sports Med. 2003;15(3):17–21.CrossRef
15.
Verret C, Guay M-C, Berthiaume C, Gardiner P, Béliveau L. A physical activity program improves behavior and cognitive functions in children with ADHD: an exploratory study. J Atten Disord. 2012;16(1):71–80.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. Atlanta: Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
17.
18.
Vaughn AJ, Hoza B. The incremental utility of behavioral rating scales and a structured diagnostic interview in the assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Emot Behav Disord. 2013;21(4):227–39.CrossRef
19.
Subcommittee on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD: clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2011;128(5):1007–22.CrossRef
20.
Wolraich ML. Pharmacological interventions for individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In: Evans SE, Hoza B, editors. Treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Kingston: Civic Research Institute, Inc; 2011. p. 8–2–8–15.
21.
Pontifex MB, Saliba BJ, Raine LB, Picchietti DL, Hillman CH. Exercise improves behavioral, neurocognitive, and scholastic performance in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Pediatr. 2013;162(3):543–51.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Shaw P, Eckstrand K, Sharp W, Blumenthal J, Lerch J, Greenstein D, et al. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is characterized by a delay in cortical maturation. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2007;104(49):19649–54.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
Jensen PS, Arnold LE, Swanson JM, Vitiello B, Abikoff HB, Greenhill LL, et al. 3-year follow-up of the NIMH MTA study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2007;46(8):989–1002.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Using Physical Activity to Manage ADHD Symptoms:The State of the Evidence
Authors
Betsy Hoza
Caroline P. Martin
Anna Pirog
Erin K. Shoulberg
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Psychiatry Reports / Issue 12/2016
Print ISSN: 1523-3812
Electronic ISSN: 1535-1645
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0749-3

Other articles of this Issue 12/2016

Current Psychiatry Reports 12/2016 Go to the issue

Attention-Deficit Disorder (A Rostain, Section Editor)

Life Span Studies of ADHD—Conceptual Challenges and Predictors of Persistence and Outcome

Child and Adolescent Disorders (TD Benton, Section Editor)

Integrated Behavioral Health in Pediatric Primary Care

Child and Family Disaster Psychiatry (B Pfefferbaum, Section Editor)

Schools and Disasters: Safety and Mental Health Assessment and Interventions for Children

Psychiatry in the Digital Age (JS Luo, Section Editor)

Automated Decision-Making and Big Data: Concerns for People With Mental Illness

Psychiatry in the Digital Age (JS Luo, Section Editor)

eHealth Intervention for Problematic Internet Use (PIU)

Bipolar Disorders (R Hirschfeld, Section Editor)

Understanding Early Age of Onset: a Review of the Last 5 Years