School Kids and Exercise

Does regular exercise improve children's performance in school? This question has become quite pertinent in recent years, with the steady erosion of the quality and quantity of physical education in schools.

A study published in the August 2005 Journal of School Health set out to see what evidence supports the connection between regular exercise and school performance. The study, which reviewed 14 papers published over the past 21 years, indicates that keeping children physically active offers clear and quantifiable benefits. The literature review showed that active children tend to have greater social skills. Exercise also reduces risk-taking behaviour.

Although researchers indicated a strong relationship could not be drawn between activity and academic performance, concentration levels among students definitely improved. Better behaved and more focused kids in the classroom were the results. That sounds like true physical education.