By Katie Harrison

The University of Illinois has revealed the results of a new study suggesting that children who are in great shape tend to show better academic performance, specifically in the area of mathematics.

The research out of the University of Illinois included 48 children between the ages of nine and ten years old. Each child first completed a “maximal oxygen-uptake fitness test” on a treadmill. Then, each child had his or her math, reading, and spelling skills tested. The researchers found vast differences in math skills between the higher-fit and lower-fit children.

“We show, for the first time, that aerobic fitness may play a role in this cortical thinning,” explained University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Laura Chaddock-Heyman, who led the research with University of Illinois Beckman Institute for Science and Technology director Art Kramer and kinesiology and community health professor Charles Hillman. “In particular, we find that higher-fit 9- and 10-year-olds show a decrease in gray-matter thickness in some areas known to change with development, specifically in the frontal, temporal and occipital lobes of the brain.”

While the study does not prove fit children have better math skills than lesser-fit kids, it is an excellent reason to promote healthy physical activity in nieces and nephews. Since it’s back-to-school season, help improve your nieces’ and nephews’ math skills by going for a run together, playing jump rope games or touch football, or encouraging and supporting their sport activity in and after school.

Photo: Nadezhda1906
Published: August 19, 2015