An old saying states that
jocks are dumb and nerds are out-of-shape geniuses. This may be inaccurate
after all.
A new study shows that
children who exercise more do better on mathematics and reading tests. “There
is some truth that athletes may be the brightest,” said Dr. Bob Rauner, author
of the survey that compared standardized test scores of fourth- to eighth-grade
children in public schools in Lincoln ,
Neb.
His study, published in the
Journal of Pediatrics, showed that children who are more physically fit tended
to do better in the math and reading tests than children who were less active
and heavier.
Rauner, a family physician
for 15 years, who now runs Healthy Lincoln, a non-profit that advocates for
childhood health, said his study was prompted by seeing a lot of obese kids.
“We found that some of the most obese were in schools which did not even have
recess.”
He and colleagues from Lincoln Public Schools
and Creighton University
in Nebraska
The study found that
physically fit children had a 2.4 times greater chance of passing math tests
and a 2.2 times greater chance of passing reading tests compared with aerobically
unfit children.
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