Physical Activity Frequency and Mathematics Performance Among Adolescents: A Cross-National Analysis of PISA 2022. Data from Spain, Denmark, and German

Purpose: This study investigates whether adolescents’ physical activity (PA) frequency predicts mathematics achievement across different European educational systems. While prior research highlights a positive association between PA and academic outcomes, little is known about whether this relationship is consistent across countries with diverse school and social contexts. The study innovatively integrates PISA 2022 data with behavioral and socioeconomic indicators to examine the independent and combined effects of PA, socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and immigrant background on academic performance.
Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was applied using data from the 2022 PISA assessment (N = 43,116; mean age = 15.79 years) from Spain, Denmark, and Germany. Mathematics performance was measured using the ten plausible values (PV1–PV10) in PISA. Weekly PA frequency and socioeconomic and cultural status (ESCS) were extracted from the student questionnaire administered in the PISA Study. Complex-sample general linear models and chi-square tests assessed the independent and combined effects of PA frequency, ESCS, gender, and immigrant background on mathematics performance. Analyses were weighted for population representativeness and conducted following OECD guidelines.
Results: Moderate PA (1–3 sessions per week) was associated with significantly higher mathematics scores compared to no or excessive activity (≥5 sessions/week; all p < .001). Students engaging in three weekly sessions performed best across all ESCS quartiles. PA contributed an additional 1.3–1.6% to the explained variance in performance beyond ESCS (R² = 16.5–17.4%). Gender and immigrant background further increased explanatory power (R² = 19.3–20.2%). German students outperformed peers from Denmark and Spain, but country did not moderate the PA–achievement relationship.
Conclusion: Findings indicate that moderate physical activity contributes independently to adolescents’ academic performance in mathematics, supporting a hormetic (inverted U-shaped) relationship between PA frequency and cognitive outcomes. These results underscore the importance of promoting regular physical activity among adolescents due to its potential impact on academic performance in mathematics. Educational policies should ensure regular and systematic PA opportunities in school settings where all students have access, thereby helping to reduce inequalities in PA opportunities and potentially mitigate the association between socioeconomic background and educational outcomes.