Articles

Physical Activity May Help Kids Do Better in School, Studies Say

            Does being physically fit have an effect on academic achievement? That is the question posed, and mostly answered, by this article. Recent studies have shown that there is a strong connection between physical fitness and test scores. The report from the Institute of Medicine is quoted saying that “children who are more active show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active.” This was tested in two separate studies by comparing children’s physical fitness scores (ability to run the 12 minute mile and a shuttle run test) to their test scores. Both studies showed that children in those children that fell out of the “health zone” tended to do worse on standardized test then those that were fit.

            These test resulted in an even more interesting question: If given access to activity during the school day do children’s capacity to learn increase? This was tested by giving these opportunities for physical activity and the schools that added not only had an increase in test scores, it also had an improved effect on body weight. For the children marked as being obese 21.8% moved to normal weight ad 16.8% of at-risk children moved to normal weight. While it is too early to make any broad conclusions there are some positive correlations happening. 

            The article was fascinating to me because it seems like common sense. It was nice to see that the Let’s Move! Campaign is starting to spark the kind of conversation that was needed. I really enjoyed the references at the end of the article that talked about the different programs that are available to help teachers and parents get their kids active. Out of the two programs given Reebok’s BOKS program sounded the most interesting. BOKS trains parents and teachers how to lead a 45 minute before school program with exercises and games that get kids moving. I truly believe with more emphasis on making sure kids get active and away from their TV and video game screens we can see a positive change in not only health but success in life for future generations.

Obesity in Young American Children Plummets

          According to a new Federal study obesity among children age 2-5 has dropped from 14% in 2003 to 8% in 2012. That is a 43% decrease, much of which has happened in the last 3 to 4 years. According to Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "Progress among the youngest children is especially important because we know that preventing obesity at an early age helps young people maintain a healthy weight into adulthood." The study also showed that obesity in children overall remained stagnate at 17% when comparing 2003-2004 to 2011-2012. Though that may not sound like much it is an improvement when before that percentage had been steadily growing. Progress is being made because of increased awareness.

            This article gave me a lot of hope. To see that The First Lady’s Let’s Move! Campaign is actually making a significant difference, despite the biased criticism. The fact that obesity for 6-11-year-olds dropped from 18.8% to 17.7% shows that the programs are beginning to work. With these programs solidly in place these preschoolers heading into the school system will help change the health atmosphere of schools and I truly believe those numbers will continue to drop. While Let’s Move!’s goal is ambitious and almost farfetched, these results and studies show that maybe it may just be achievable.

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