Open-skills sports, especially team ball games, are associated with adolescents’ cognitive abilities: Longitudinal evidence from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study

In the past few decades, there has been ongoing debate regarding whether and how physical activity is related to cognitive development. The current study attempted to advance our understanding of this topic by exploring how various facets of physical activity—both quantitative and qualitative—are linked to specific cognitive functions in adolescents. The sample was 3526 adolescents from the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study. At age 14, adolescents’ daily activity content, duration, and intensity on weekdays and weekends were assessed using both an activity monitor and a time-use diary. Hot Executive function (EF) was measured at age 14 using the Cambridge Gambling Task (comprising six indices), and academic achievement was evaluated at age 17 based on self-reported performance in the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Multiple hierarchical regressions revealed that a greater amount of time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) was predictive of better EF at age 14 ( |β| =.05 –.09), but unrelated to academic outcome at age 17. In analysing adolescents’ activity content, it was found that open skills sports were more closely associated with EF, with team ball games exhibiting the strongest and more consistent effect ( |β| =.07 –.13). In contrast, regular engagement in individual ball games ( β =.05, p = .018) and swimming ( β =.05, p = .033) was related to better academic outcomes. Our findings confirm the link between MVPA and cognitive functions in the adolescent population and highlight the beneficial effect of open-skill sports on adolescents’ cognitive development. • More time in moderate-to-vigorous activity was linked to better hot executive function. • Open-skills sports were positively associated with adolescents’ hot executive function. • Team ball games showed the strongest link to adolescents’ hot executive function. • Individual ball games and swimming were linked to better academic achievement at 17.