CHAWK-Championing Health And Wellness in Kids

FOCUS ON:
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Children who have more time for out-of-classroom activity during the school day do better in the classroom in terms of both learning and behavior. Consider the following research:

Physically fit children perform better academically than their less-fit counterparts, according to a California Department of Education study that links physical fitness to higher achievement in reading and math (http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr02/yr02rel37.asp)

Academic achievement improves even when physical activity takes time away from academics (“240 minutes for higher math scores,” Shephard, R.J., Volle, M., LaVallee, H., LaBarre, R., Jequier, J.C., & Rajic, M., 1984. Required physical activity and academic grades: A controlled study. In J. Ilmarinen & I. Valimaki (Eds.), Children and Sport, pp. 58-63. Berlin: Springer-Verlag).

When recess time is cut or delayed, elementary-school children grow increasingly inattentive, according to a study cited on Time Magazine’s website; as a result, more prescriptions for Ritalin are written.

And the National Academy of Sciences, in the most comprehensive assessment to date of what the U.S. should to do counter the explosion of obesity among U.S. youngsters, has called for a national campaign that involves, among other things, making sure children get at least 30 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity.