Physically Fit Children Score Better Grades

A healthy body can help students to excel in studies, a new study says.

A team of researchers from Michigan State University found middle school students in the best physical shape performing better in standardized tests and achieving better grades compared to their unfit peers. Lead researcher Dawn Coe analyzed the association between academic performance and physical fitness. Physical fitness was determined through various factors like body fat, muscular strength, flexibility and endurance.

"We looked at the full range of what's called health-related fitness," Coe, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said in a news release. "Kids aren't really fit if they're doing well in just one of those categories."

For the study, researchers looked at 312 students studying in sixth to eigth grade. Physical fitness of the participants was measured through a series of programs like push-ups, shuttle runs and other exercises. The participants also attended a standardized test. Physical fitness scores of the children were compared with their grades in the school and scores of the tests. Proving the link, researchers found children with high scores in physical fitness getting best grades and scoring high in the standardized test.

"Fit kids are more likely to be fit adults," co-author James Pivarnik, an MSU professor of kinesiology, said. "And now we see that fitness is tied to academic achievement. So hopefully the fitness and the success will both continue together."

Researchers also urged schools to provide an environment that increases physical activity among students.

"Look, your fitter kids are the ones who will do better on tests, so that would argue against cutting physical activity from the school day," Pivarnik said. "That's the exciting thing, is if we can get people to listen and have some impact on public policy." 

The study is published in the journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness.