By Genevra PittmanNEW YORK Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:09pm ESTPlayers from the University of Connecticut men'...

1. Exercise linked to better performance in school
By Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:09pm EST
Players from the University of Connecticut men's
basketball team hold a clinic for students from Eliot-
Hine Middle School, based in Washington, on a
basketball court on the grounds of the White House
in Washington May 16, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids who get more
exercise also tend to do better in school, suggests a
new analysis of past studies published this week.
Playing on sports teams and having more time to
run around during recess is known to be good for kids' physical health, but whether it also gives
them a mental boost has been a subject of debate -- especially as schools cut physical activity time in
favor of more academic test prep.
The finding "just helps to continue to show the importance of exposing kids to physical activity," said
Sandy Slater, who has studied recess and physical education at the University of Illinois at Chicago
but wasn't involved in the new research.
"There's obviously the long-term links between physical activity and health, but this is another
reason to try to continue to keep some dedicated amount of time for physical education or recess or
some other types of physical activity in the school day," she told Reuters Health.
Amika Singh, who worked on the new study, said the findings mean that schools should prioritize
both academics and exercise, and that families can have the same attitude at home.
"Maybe it's an activity break, stand up every half an hour in class and do something," Singh, from
VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, told Reuters Health.
"It might mean going to school by bike... Any kind of physical activity you can think of. It doesn't
mean only the physical education standard class."
Singh and her colleagues reviewed 14 studies that compared kids' physical activity with their grades
or scores on math, language and general thinking and memory tests.
Those included two types of reports. In 10 so-called observational studies, researchers asked

2. parents, teachers or students themselves how active they were, then followed them for a few months
to a few years to track their academic performance.
In the four other studies, one group of kids was given extra time for PE classes and other health and
fitness exercises and their test scores were later compared against a group of kids who didn't get
extra exercise.
Reports that only recorded whether or not kids were on a sports team didn't find a link between
participation and academic success. But when researchers asked students how much time they spent
exercising, they found that those with higher rates of physical activity did better in the classroom.
Three of the four studies involving an exercise intervention found that students given more exercise
time scored higher on measures of academic performance.
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/exercise/sports-physiology.htm
For example, in one report from the United States, second and third graders who got an extra 90
minutes of physical activity per week did better on a test of spelling, reading and math, along with
gaining less weight over the next three years.
That could be because kids are better behaved and can concentrate better when they get enough
exercise, or because physical activity improves blood flow to the brain and boosts mood, the
researchers wrote in the Archives of Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine.
Recent research has suggested that many U.S. kids are not getting the recommended amount of PE
and recess endorsed by the American Heart Association, which includes two and half hours of PE
per week and 20 minutes of recess every day (see Reuters Health story of December 5, 2011).
Singh said that while the findings do suggest physical activity and academic success can go hand in
hand, they can't be used to give direct advice to school administrators about how much time to
devote to PE, recess and other types of exercise.
Amy Eyler, a physical activity and policy researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, said that
type of data is hard to come by, but it's what missing from convincing school districts to prioritize
physical activity.
"That's what the school administrators and policy makers need to know, how much will make a
difference," Eyler, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health.
In the meantime, she said, parents can value physical education and make their voices heard.
"Everyone wants quality education for their children," Eyler said. "If this is a way to increase that
quality, parents should be concerned and that's something they should stand up for."
SOURCE: bit.ly/rMXkHY Archives of Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine, online January 2, 2012.
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