A Spanish study of 100 overweight children found a pattern between physical health and mental ability. They discovered that the volume of grey matter, which processes information in the brain, is higher in both the cortical and subcortical brain regions of children with good fitness levels.
The cortical part of the brain is the largest part of the brain and is responsible for thoughts and actions. The subcortical is more associated with motor function in the body.
The scientists looked at participant’s physical health, focusing particularly on aerobic fitness and motor ability. They then compared their findings with the children’s brain activity.
The study was published in the Neuroimage journal and the research was carried out by the University of Granada and the Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre.
Francisco B. Ortega, who led the project, believes that their findings provide emphatic evidence of the importance of physical activity to a child’s intellectual and mental development. “The answer is short and forceful: yes, physical fitness in children is linked in a direct way to important brain structure differences, and such differences are reflected in the children’s academic performance.”
Irene Esteban-Cornejo, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Granada and main author of the study, feels that governments should review the findings and make physical education a mandatory part of every child’s curriculum. Researchers said, “We appeal both to politicians, who make educational laws that are increasingly more focused on instrumental subjects, and to teachers, who are the final link in the chain and teach physical education day after day.
The cortical part of the brain is the largest part of the brain and is responsible for thoughts and actions. The subcortical is more associated with motor function in the body.
The scientists looked at participant’s physical health, focusing particularly on aerobic fitness and motor ability. They then compared their findings with the children’s brain activity.
The study was published in the Neuroimage journal and the research was carried out by the University of Granada and the Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre.
Francisco B. Ortega, who led the project, believes that their findings provide emphatic evidence of the importance of physical activity to a child’s intellectual and mental development. “The answer is short and forceful: yes, physical fitness in children is linked in a direct way to important brain structure differences, and such differences are reflected in the children’s academic performance.”
Irene Esteban-Cornejo, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Granada and main author of the study, feels that governments should review the findings and make physical education a mandatory part of every child’s curriculum. Researchers said, “We appeal both to politicians, who make educational laws that are increasingly more focused on instrumental subjects, and to teachers, who are the final link in the chain and teach physical education day after day.
“School is the only entity that gathers every children in a mandatory way for a period of at least ten years, and as such, it’s the ideal context for applying such recommendations.”
Reporting by Peter Feely
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