DOES EXERCISE MAKE KIDS SMARTER?

In the midst of reports of schools cutting recess and physical education in order to provide additional time for standardized test preparation, new research reveals that limiting physical activity may reduce cognitive function in youngsters.

The research team from the University of Illinois presented their findings this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “We have found a strong relationship between academic achievement and fitness scores,” elucidates study co-author Darla Castelli. “Those who scored well in academics also did well in physical fitness. We’re not suggesting that if we run more laps it will make us smarter, but there does appear to be a correlation.”

Along with researchers Charles Hillman and Sarah Buck, Castelli analyzed about 500 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders. They compared the subjects’ aerobic capacity, flexibility, muscle fitness and cognitive function (as determined by standard achievement tests and neuroelectric and behavioral responses to stimulus discrimination tasks).
“We found that fit children allocated more resources towards identifying stimuli, and also processed stimuli faster,” Hillman pronounced. “Behaviorally, these effects showed up in that these fit children made fewer errors than sedentary ones.”

“Despite increased incidence of childhood obesity and type II diabetes mellitus, physical education time is being reduced to address academic issues related to federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ legislation,” adds Castelli. “If evidence existed that physical education contributed to intellectual development, it may gain credibility and instructional time.”

Society for Psychophysiological Research – October 20, 2004.http://sprweb.org/

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