# The effects of physical exercise with additional visual tasks on vision and anxiety in children aged 10–11 years

## TL;DR

Combining physical exercise with visual tasks improves children's vision and reduces anxiety, with vision changes partially explaining the anxiety reduction.

## Contribution

This study identifies a mediating role of visual acuity in the relationship between exercise with visual tasks and reduced anxiety in children.

## Key findings

- The experimental group showed significant improvements in visual acuity and reduced anxiety after 16 weeks.
- Kinetic visual acuity and left eye uncorrected distance visual acuity mediated the effect of the intervention on anxiety.
- The control group also showed reduced anxiety but without significant improvements in kinetic visual acuity.

## Abstract

This study investigated the effects of physical exercise with additional visual tasks on anxiety and visual acuity in children aged 10–11 years, and analyzed the mediating role of visual acuity in this relationship.

Fifth-grade students from an experimental elementary school in Suzhou were selected and randomly assigned into a control group (n = 81) and an experimental group (n = 80). The experimental group underwent 16 weeks of physical exercise with additional visual tasks, while the control group engaged in regular physical exercise. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), kinetic visual acuity (KVA), and anxiety levels were measured both before and after the experiment.

Post-intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in left and right eyes UDVA and KVA (P < 0.01) and a significant reduction in total anxiety scores (P < 0.01). The control group exhibited significant improvements in left and right eyes UDVA (P < 0.05), but not in KVA (P > 0.05), with a significant reduction in anxiety scores (P < 0.01). Significant positive correlations were found between left and right eyes UDVA and KVA, and significant negative correlations between total anxiety scores and both left and right eyes UDVA and KVA. In the experimental group, KVA and left eye UDVA mediated the impact of physical exercise with additional visual tasks on anxiety.

Physical exercise with additional visual tasks improved UDVA and KVA in children aged 10–11 and effectively reduced anxiety in fifth-grade students. KVA and left eye UDVA acted as chain mediators in this effect.