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Let the Kids Play: They'll Do Better in School
‘Think that physical activity is just good for the body? Tums out exercise can help youngsters
do better in school too
by Alce Pack @utcopatny Jan 03,2012 1 Comment
First Lady Michelle Obama may be on to something
‘with her unflagging “Let's Move" admonitions — the
latest research shows that physical activity may help
children do better in schoo!
Amik Singh, a senior researcher at VU University in
the Netherlands, reports in the Archives of Pediatric
‘and Adolescent Medicine that physical activity is
associated with better aeademie performance, a8
measured by higher GPAs and better scores on
standardized tests. She and her colleagues reviewed
1a studies, some of whieh simply recorded the
‘amount of physical activity that children, parents or
‘teachers reported that youngsters gt over three days to seven days prior to
the study, and some of which randomly assigned students to varying amounts
of exercise a day. Taken together, the studies showed thatthe more physical
tctvity the children had, the higher their scores in school, particulary inthe basic subjects of math, English and
reading
“The data support carlicr research that linked exerese with more produetivity and fewer sick days for adults, and
‘could fel the ongoing debate over whether physical education classes shouldbe cut from school programs due to
pudget constrainta, According to the Centers for Disease Control, students should have about one hour of physical
activity every day to remain healthy; only 38% of high school students met this requirement inthe week prior toa
‘2009 survey and 23% had not exercised at all during that period. The argument for reducing the amount of school
‘devoted to physical education is based on the fact that standardized test scores for US children have been