Effect of Cognitively Challenging Physical Activity on Executive Functions in Pediatric Cancer Patients

"The intervention is a structured cognitively challenging physical activity (PA) program specifically designed for pediatric cancer patients undergoing acute therapy. It stands out from other interventions by combining motor and cognitive tasks simultaneously. Therefore, the target executive functions are inhibition, shifting, and updating. Additionally, the whole body is addressed by enhancing PA.~The PA program spans 12 weeks, with each participant engaging in guided, supervised 45-minute sessions three times weekly. Each session includes a warm-up, the cognitive challenging PA task and a subsequent multimodal sports programme with a cool-down. Exercises are adaptive and tailored to each participant's physical and health condition by offering three levels of intensity in both cognitive and physical difficulty. In addition, exercise counselling in maintenance therapy or aftercare supports young patients to reintegrate into the life after the disease."

The children and adolescents receive general physical activity recommendations at the baseline measurement (t0). At the end of the intervention (after 12 weeks), i.e. after the final measurement (t3), they receive individualised and tailored exercise recommendations based on the test results from t0-t3.