Improved Math Skills Linked to Cardiorespiratory Fitness

We all want our kids to be physically fit, strong, and healthy. A new University study has now set to prove that physical fitness can also aid in math skills in pre-teen children. According to a study conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 9 and 10 year olds who are in shape when it comes to their aerobic fitness were found to have thinner gray matter in their brains and scored better on mathematics examinations. Gray matter thins naturally as children’s brains develop, but higher cardiorespiratory levels added to the thinning. This thinning strengthens the brain and removes unneeded connections and makes the more necessary connections stronger. With increased thinning of the gray matter, the brain becomes better at reasoning skills, like those needed to perform math problems. This is an important finding related to the benefit of cardiovascular exercise in children and how it not only helps their physical fitness, but their intellectual growth as well – specifically their math skills.

The University study analyzed 48 nine and ten year-old children and their cardio fitness levels via a treadmill oxygen uptake test along with examining their brains on an MRI. The kids who performed better on the treadmill and were fitter showed better results on multiple math tests. The study found no such correlation for spelling or reading skills, so this study showed that math skills are the ones correlated to the increased exercise performance.

This study along with others like it signify and stress the importance of physical fitness in children. Not only does it help children keep their bodies fit and healthy, but it contributes to their mathematical performance skills. This is why the elimination of gym classes and extracurricular sports is so detrimental for students. Many schools need to cut physical education programs due to lack of funding. Hopefully, studies like this will prove that school budgets need to take gym classes into account just as they would the academic courses. All are important for a well-rounded child’s overall development.

What do you do to make sure your child stays fit? Do you find that they perform better in school with increased fitness? Has your child’s school had to cut gym or sports programs?

For more information like this, please visit All My Children.

 

Source: Science Daily

 

By: Melissa A. Kay