Walking to School improves Intelligence, Learning Skills: Study

Here is another evidence to prove the advantages of walking to school daily than travelling by bus or car. A new study reveals that walking to school can boost intelligence and improve learning skills in adolescents, particularly girls.

An active childhood and adolescence is crucial for brain development. According to experts, physical activity during the early stages of growth activates nerve cells, thus helping healthy brain development.

The study included 1700 teens, both boys (808) and girls (892), aged 13 to 18. All the children were part of the Food and Assessment of the Nutritional Status of Spanish Adolescents (AVENA) study.

Researchers collected information about a wide range of factors including the different modes of commute used by the children to travel to school, physical activity, body mass index (BMI) and socio-economic status of their families. Children were also asked about the time they took to reach school.

Later all the children gave tests that measured their language, math and reasoning skills. Researchers found that girls who reported walking to school had improved learning and cognitive performance compared to their female peers who travelled by car or bus. They also found walking more than 15 minutes to school provided better results than covering only short distances to school.

According to the authors of the study, plasticity of the brain is highest during adolescence, making it the best time for cognitive development. Asserting on the low intensity of physical activity in adolescent girls, they said that "inactive adolescents could be missing out on a very important stimulus to improve their learning and cognitive performance."

The study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine re-confirms a 2012 study. Researchers at the Universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus found that cycling or walking to school  improved students' concentration in the classroom.