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Background Previous research has demonstrated that physical exercise enhances motor ability (MA) and that participation in physical activity effectively improves executive function (EF). Physical education (PE), as a core element of students’ daily activities, plays a crucial role in facilitating these benefits. PE also improves the quality of education. Currently, PE are mainly divided into three types. Understanding differences and associations between MA and EF following various PE may improve educational quality, promote physical and mental health. This study aims to: (1) compare the effects of three PE interventions on MA and EF in junior high school students; (2) examine the relationships between MA and EF. Methods A cluster randomized controlled trial with a pre-post design was employed. Participants were assigned to Fitness Group (FG; n = 21), Sports skill Group (SG; n = 20), and Interdisciplinary Group (IG; n = 21; sports activities with interdisciplinary knowledge), which calculated value using G*Power. Over 12-week, each group completed twice-weekly interventions. Using BMI, waist-circumference, 20-m-shuttle-run, 30-s-sit-ups, grip-strength, standing-long-jump, 50-m-sprint, sit-and-reach, and 20-s-repeated-crossovers assessed physical fitness (PF). Using questionnaires assessed motor cognition (MC), skill and competition assessed motor skill (MS). MA was evaluated by calculating Z-scores for each component based on age-specific data. EF assessed using the Stroop, 2-back, and More-odd shifting. Paired t -tests/Wilcoxon tests, ANOVA/Welch’s ANOVA with post hoc comparisons, and Spearman correlations were used for analysis. Results MA improved significantly across all groups. ANOVA showed that the specialized sports intervention produced greater improvements in MA, PF, and MC than other groups, with no significant difference in MS. In EF, inhibitory control (IC) and cognitive flexibility (CF) improved significantly, with greater CF gains in the interdisciplinary group ( p 0.05) PF was positively correlated with working memory (WM), whereas MC showed a negative association, possibly due to which may reflect the substantial cognitive resources required for complex coordination and motor tasks. Conclusion Different PE interventions have distinct effects on adolescents’ MA and EF. The observed associations between MA components and EF domains highlight the close link between physical and cognitive development. These suggest that PE and health promotion policies should integrate structured physical, sports skill, and cognitively engaging interdisciplinary activities to support adolescents’ physical and cognitive development.
Zhang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.