Physically Unfit Kids Score Lower on Brain Development Tests

RoseTracker| Researchers have established an association between physical fitness brain function in 9- and 10-year-old children. Kids who are physically fit have a larger hippocampus and perform better on memory tests.

Brain scans allowed researchers to examine the brains of both fit and not fit children, focusing on the hippocampus, buried deep in the brain and critical to learning and memory. A larger hippocampus is associated with superior spatial reasoning and other cognitive tasks.

Researchers also put the 49 kids — some fit and other not — on a treadmill to measure physical fitness levels.

At a time when many American schools have cancelled gym classes, the researchers are positive that children who are physically fit had a larger hippocampus and scored higher on tests than unfit children. Is the lack of fitness in America’s kids a reason for falling test scores on competitive tests with kids from other countries? via Science Daily

More reading, also published today, with many food and health research references:

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