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Fit Kids Have Higher IQ and More Likely to Go to College
Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals: Teens
Does exercise make kids smarter? Credit: LuMaxArt, Flickr
The study shows a clear link between good physical fitness and better results for the IQ test. "Youngsters who improve their physical fitness between the ages of 15 and 18 increase their cognitive performance," says Maria Åberg, one of the researchers at Sweden's Sahlgrenska Academy who conducted the study. "This being the case, physical education is a subject that has an important place in schools, and is an absolute must if we want to do well in maths and other theoretical subjects."
The strongest links are for logical thinking and verbal comprehension. But the researchers point out that kids don't need to worry about packing on muscle: Only fitness appears to play a role in the results for the IQ test, not strength."Being fit means that you also have good heart and lung capacity and that your brain gets plenty of oxygen," says another member of the research team, Michael Nilsson, professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy and chief physician at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. "This may be one of the reasons why we can see a clear link with fitness, but not with muscular strength."
The connection between physical fitness and mental performance has been show in previous studies of animals, kids and elderly people. But the link hadn't previously been shown among young adults until this study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This new study involved 1.2 million Swedish men doing military service.
The research team analyzed physical and IQ tests done when the men enrolled in the military, and compared results from fitness tests with socioeconomic status later in life. The men who were fit at 18 were more likely to go into higher education, and many held better jobs.
Sounds like a great incentive to get the whole family in shape: If healthier hearts bring better grades, could scholarship money be far behind?
Related: Fit Parents are Natural Cross Trainers, Exercise and Academic Achievement Linked to Better Grades
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-08-2009 @ 4:18PM
Itfigures said...That's very interesting to read. Just how did I manage to be fat and have an A average?
Reply
12-08-2009 @ 5:08PM
piratricitee said...well, i guess this story answers a question i've been pondering, now i know the answer based on this story, there are more fit kids in college than overweight ones. and studies say our population is getting more obese, just take a look at the colleges "study people" and you'll see it lacks obese students, or at least according to this article that's what they are implying.....
Reply
12-08-2009 @ 7:01PM
April said...What the article is saying, is that when a person is physically fit, the brain metabolism is more active. This allows for a better understanding of concepts. When a person is overweight, the body focuses on nourishing the extra fat and tissue. It needs to work harder to keep the body moving and active. Thus, reducing the energy that could be sent to the brain. This is not saying that an overweight person could not have a 4.0. It is simply saying that if more active, the person's understanding would increase.
Itfigures, has it ever occurred to you that maybe you are just smart? It does not say that being fit makes people smart. It says that being fit makes people smarter. There is a difference.
Reply
12-08-2009 @ 7:22PM
Jinger said...Dear whoever wrote this article:
Ummm, shut up, please? If fat people are stupid, which is what I assume you're trying to say, then how did one of my best friends, who happens to be obese, reach valedictorian of his senior class? Think about that while your head is in your ass.
Reply
12-08-2009 @ 8:11PM
Lauren said...I think you all are being a tad overly sensitive, the study is not concluding anything it is establishing a possible link that says physically fit people may have a slightly higher IQ than those who are obese. It's not bashing obese/overweight people, so get over it. Otherwise, go eat some cupcakes and bitch about it more.