Being fit, it turns out, makes you smarter...
Dr. Bob Rauner, lead author of a new study published in The Journal of Pediatrics, compared standardized test scores of 4th to 8th grade children in Lincoln, Nebraska. Through analaysis of body mass index (BMI), aerobic fitness levels, and standardized test scores, Dr. Rauner discovered that kids who were fit were more than twice as likely to demonstrate improved performance on standardized tests.
Logically, this makes sense. When you're more fit, you have more energy, you can concentrate more effectively, your head is clearer, and your ability to focus on the task at hand is significantly improved. When you're fit, you know this to be true. But if you put it into the context of school curriculums that continue to cut physical education programs and recess in an effort to focus on academics, these results begin to call into question the merits of such decisions.
In addition to cutting physical education and recess from school curriculums there was at least one other factor that prompted the work of Dr. Rauner, and that was that inside his own medical practice he was noticing a correlation between his most obese adolescent patients and the fact that they were the ones in the schools where recess and physical education had been cut.
Even more interesting was that even for disadvantaged kids who came from socioeconomic backgrounds that present their own set of obstacles to success in school, performance on tests was still improved by increased levels of fitness. Which means that regardless of background, a higher overall fitness level produced a more optimal performance on standardized tests.
An important distinction in this study was the fact though BMI levels (BMI being essentially a measure of weight or obesity) were measured as part of the investigation, it was overall fitness level that predicted success. Which means that even though obesity remains a grave problem for our kids, even obese fit kids were able to improve their performance on tests.
Also important is the point that while socioeconomic factors are important and need to be addressed, improving levels of fitness provides a much easier immediate strategy for helping these students do better in school.
So often, pursuit of improved levels of health and fitness get moved too far down on the priority list because it is often difficult for people to connect the relationships between improved levels of health and fitness with improved levels of academic performance or performance in life overall. In fact, in our culture, more work or in the case of this example, more studying...is often the go to solution for improving performance. When in fact, very often what is necessary is the achievement of a more optimal balance of academic time and physical activity time.
We must honor the body's need for physical exercise, rest and recovery. More is not always better. And in fact, this investigation shows us just that. Our dire need as human beings and Bohemian athletes for an optimal balance of physical exercise or activity and academic or other intellectual pursuits.
Ask any adult who is unfit, overworked, stressed and exhausted what they would excel at most at 3 'o' clock in the afternoon...
I guarantee you it won't be an algebra test.
