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Monday, November 22, 2010

Exercise and IQ

I find this interesting. 

For years, there has been a cry for help in the fight against childhood obesity.  Our kids are too overweight.  Kids are not exercising. They are too plugged into technology. Kids are not going outside to "play" anymore. People depend on the schools to keep children active by making physical education mandatory. Is this enough? What about those students who "opt out" of PE by taking another elective with parental permission (like band) or even completing the course on-line. With recent budget cuts, some schools are cutting the program all together.

Read this article:  Phys Ed: Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter? (shared by Francisco Rivera - thank you).

What are your opinions?  Can you find any other related articles?

17 comments:

  1. Okay, firstly, I wanted to say that it is JUST like Fransisco to share something like this. :)

    Secondly, I read this article when it first came out in the New York Times back in September, and even it still seems like something is wrong with the article. Only today did I realize what that something is.

    The studies conducted for this experiment don't really apply to everyone. There are many factors that might drastically affect an experiment like this and how it can be applied to everyone. The one variable that really stuck out for me though*, was age. Now, since the brain changes radically as one ages, a teenage brain is much different from that of a nine-year old. That might mean that exercise might make a teenager smarter just like it did to the nine year-old, or it might actually reduce the intelligence of the teenager. After all, can we really be sure until a test like this is run on actual teenagers?

    Also, this test was run on children from one area near the University of Illinois campus. These children probably come from similar socio-economic backgrounds, and since upbringing affects the way the brain develops, this might play a factor throughout the experiment. I say they run the tests with children from all kinds of cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. They also have to take into account children with mental conditions, be they things like autism or schizophrenia.

    My intention isn't to diss this article; I believe that it's a great idea to inform people of the benefits of good health, especially today, with the deteriorating condition of American health. But maybe the results of this study don't apply to us as directly as they should.

    Just food for thought.

    Oh, and for any sports enthusiasts out there that took this article too literally, replacing studying with playing sports will probably worsen your chances of acing that test. It's still a good idea to study.

    And one more thing: videogames CAN make you smarter. (Brain Age anyone?)

    ~Caterina Golner
    Period 2

    * Can someone do me a favor and post something that explains how commas relate to the word "though?" Especially when used like it was above.

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  2. Ryan G P6

    I thought this article was very interesting. Although, I found it weird how the change between ages and places was EXTREMELY slim. They also mentioned Physical Education being mandatory. I think that is absolutely ridiculous. I love sports but I would much rather take Peer Counseling and Spanish just like other kids. To the videogames: I saw an article about a month ago in the newspaper about an elementary school that broadcasts 'Just Dance' (An active dance video game) on the morning announcements. The school noticed an increase in attendance and performance. Coincidence? Maybe. But videogames AND exercise improving the brain could both be possible.

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  3. Rodolfo H. P6

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    I want to start off with the talk on videogames. Can anyone tell me who these days play "educational" games? If I could narrow down what people play these days, its Call of Duty: Black OPS. Video games are meant to be a form of entertainment and a way to get out of normal life: educational games usually don't sell among groups such as teens and adults, but if parents thought, "Hmm, should I buy this educational Nintendo game or this all-out war game for Playstation 3 that's rated M for Mature for my ten-year old?" I think the answer is pretty obvious.

    Now, PE is basically a "free period", and for 30 minutes the "coaches" just talk among themselves, and you have to change in and out of your clothes, too. If I could take a high school credit course instead of being bored for half a period and then spend 15 minutes on "warm-ups" then spend the scraps of time left to play a sport, I would.

    I don't believe that sports and school performance are related. I play tackle football and basketball with friends at Hunters Pointe Park and Jardin Park frequently, and sports, like video games, are a "free fun" time. I usually find myself disconcentrated after sports, however, and I just stare at the computer screen for ten minutes and I don't realize it.

    "People don't go outside to "play" anymore." -Really???

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  4. I believe that this article makes perfect sense. My science fair is on counting calories. I researched and was able to find out that one out of every three children and two out of every three adults are obese or overweight. This article mentioned that 25% of students don't exercise in or outside of school and that one should do moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes.

    Whenever I exercise in the morning, I feel more alert and feel less tired throughout the day. This helps me think and stay awake when I am doing my work. I believe this is why it is said that the IQ of people who do exercise is much higher than those who don't.

    Neha A. P.1

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  5. I thought this article was really interesting! Who knew that there was a correlation between exercise and test averages?! I can even see this from an economical point of view. If kids want better grades, skip the tutor, and go outside with a soccer ball for an hour! Not to mention the added benefit of longer, healthier lives. College coaches? Tutors? Pfft, those are so 1990s.
    There is one thing that I wanted to say, though. Like Cat mentioned, eliminating studying altogether can prove to be harmful, because I know many sports fanatics will see the article and go "No more studying!!!" But at least 20-30 minutes a day would be a good idea.

    Mira Merchant
    Period 3

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  6. For me, this article was very interesting. I had never thought that there was actually a link between exercise and our performance at school (although, if you think about it, it makes sense!). I had heard about video games, but never sports. When playing sports, you are exercising your muscles and I'm guessing it goes all around your body, benefiting you health and brains.
    Concerning P.E., I would have to agree with Ryan when he says that he would rather be taking Spanish and other useful subjects. In my opinion, taking high school-credits is much more beneficial, seeing as one can always take extracurricular activities.
    -Diana S.
    P.4

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  7. I agree with Cat: they should test this on teenagers with a larger variety of backgrounds. If those tests prove that exercising can benefit your IQ, then I suggest that everyone go out and play.

    I also agree with Mira: I don't think that tutors and studying should be eliminated completely.

    Yuval S.
    Period 3

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  8. This article was very interesting. I don't think that P.E. in school should be mandatory. But I do think that parents should make an effort to have their children involved in some aerboic activity after school. I feel that school shouldn't be about exercising and getting fit, instead we should be learning from the books and taking part in other fun subjects, (like what Ryan and Diana said), but after school, it is important that kids become more aware of their health habits and take part in some sort of program after school hours that allows them to be involved in aerobic activity. As stated in the article, exercising and working your muscles can effect how students progress in school. This always affected me, because when I would be stressed out at home and not concentrating on my school work,I would go for a run, and then come back and be fully focused. Maybe it has the same effect on other students as shown in the results from the article.
    Also, obesity of the kids in America doesn't just relate to physical activity. It may also relate to how they eat and what nutrients they are consuming. Efforts should be made to inform students, especially in elementary school what they should be eating and how to have a healthy nutritious diet. With these nutritious tips and more physical activity awarness, will be overweight.

    Meredith Sheldon
    P.3

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  9. I found this article interesting. It's really cool how doing exercise/being active can actually help you in school, but I hope, as Mira mentioned, that sport fanatics don't take it to an extreme and just stop studying. "Everything is good in moderation". Also, I disagree that P.E. isn't an important class; it should be mandatory because most people are actually exercising, and even if they're not, their walking the track for 30 minutes which still counts as excercise. Although P.E. isn't my favorite class, it should be mandatory, especially now when child obesity is a huge problem in the U.S.

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  10. Well, I just want to say that technology getting more advance is both a good and bad thing. Obviously the good thing is that we are improving our range of technology and getting more advanced. However, kids are abusing this since the technological games and activities keep them inside instead of getting exercise or studying. This might also be a reason why the unphysically fit have lower grades than the physically fit, since the computer and television probably distract them when they are doing homework or they are just doing homework while watching television or on the computer, which is proven that this makes people remember and take in little knowledge what they are studying or doing, which is bad since homework is practice for the real thing. Also, I just want to point out that this article uses big words like hippocampus and basal ganglia, so it kind of lost me at those words but then I just read it over and over.
    Maggie Meng P6

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  11. This article grabbed my attention. I had no idea that there was a conection between exercise and test scores. From now on, I'm going to do exercise around 30 minutes a day. Although, exercise is helpful in school, not studying can mess up test averages.

    Yumi Rivas
    Period 2

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  12. I thought that the article was pretty intriguing. I would never have thought that exercise would benefit school performance. It is true that exercise is important, but it should not be so time consuming that it takes away from study time. This would be hurting school performance. Regardless of anything else, I think that school should be the priority, and sports are just an extra thing to do.

    Christal Hector
    Period 3

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  13. I agree with many of the comments above. This article was extremely interesting, although I did not find it surprising. Even when you're not exercising a specific part of your body, physical activities improve the whole body, so why would it be surprising that your brain benefits from exercise too? I agree that they should have tested a wider variety of people. I'm also curious to know if it matters when you start exercising. For example, what if a child starts off his life as a couch potato, but, as a teenager, discovers a sport and becomes physically fit? Does his brain get stronger, or did it have to be stimulated early on in life? If it does get stronger, will his I.Q. increase? This would pose a whole new set of questions. I.Q. is thought to remain the same throughout a persons life. Can your I.Q. be raised? Can it even be decreased? Additionally, and this may seem a little silly, is the stereotypical nerd now obsolete? When I picture a nerd, I think of a shut in who cares for books, not sports. It seems that todays master-minds would be the people who are the healthiest. Are there any stereotypical nerds left, or are they extinct? Did they even exist in the first place? If you think about it, the scientists we idolize (Einstein, Newton, Hawking before his illness, etc.) were generally skinny guys. Thinking on a global scale, America is quickly falling behind countries like China. Could this have anything to do with the rising numbers of obese people in the U.S.? I know that there are many factors, and, if weight is a factor, it probably isn't a huge one. I'm not going to say that fat people are ruining the world. Weight does not define a person, and I'm not trying to be mean. I also know that we are still a superpower in the world. Still, I did some research. As of 2006, about 35.9% of adults in America are obese. In China about 5% of adults are obese. That's a large difference. Just food for thought, but it seems we still have a lot of research to do.

    Lauren Goboff
    Period 3

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  14. I totally agree with this article. Exercise is very important. It helps you in many ways. Though in the article they talked about people being able to opt. out of P.E. I find this very bad. I think that P.E. should definitely be mandatory. So many kids are overweight and if there were an hour of P.E. every day I'm sure a lot less kids would be overweight. Many kids don't have the self-discipline to go and exercise. Therefore, if there is not mandatory P.E. in schools then not many kids will be exercising. I feel that P.E. should definitely be required.

    -Kayla Moodie Pd.3

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  15. I agree with Andrea DeAbreu above. I do believe P.E. is important... although I personally dislike it. Many kids suffer from obesity, and making it mandatory to do some kind of excersise, no matter to what extreme, would just help provide a balance between daily in-take and exercise.
    I found it really amazing that being active can affect how we do in school. I also agree with the comments saying that these tests should be run through teenagers... brain and body development changes completely during this age, and it is very hard to compare us to the results of kids of a different age group.

    -Isabel Hofmann, Pd. 4

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  16. I agree with this article, excise is very important. Many people don't like to have to take P.E. but it is an important class to take. when kids exercise their bodies they exercise their minds at the same time. I don't thing people should be able to opt. out of P.E. without proving that they are doing some other kind of physical activity.
    - Aina Rivas pd. 2

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