In a recent study, students were graded by their level of physical activity. The fittest group of students did 30% better on standardized testing than the least fit group. They also did better in a set of core classes.

Results from the study, which included 317 students in grades six through eight, showed that the fittest group of students scored almost 30 percent higher on standardized tests than the least fit group. And the least fit students had grades in four core classes that were 13 percent to 20 percent lower than all other kids, according to findings presented at a recent ACSM meeting.

Experts speculate that exercise may boost academic performance in various ways, including: burning off pent-up energy and allowing kids to pay attention better and focus on their work; boosting self-esteem and mood; and increasing blood flow to the brain, helping with memory and concentration.

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According to a great article in USA Today called “Exercise Builds Strong Brains Too” physical fitness can make your kids smarter. A new study done in the pediatrics department at the University of Georgia reports that children who play rigorously for twenty to forty minutes a day may have better organizational skills and also may be better at mathematics.  A study was done on a group of overweight children and it was found that those who exercised every day scored an average of 4 more points on cognitive tests. This is a good argument for keeping gymnastics and other physical fitness programs mandatory in schools and universities.

According to the Journal Gazette Times Courier, the state of Illinois has started a program called Heart Smart for Teens with a grant from the Illinois Department of Publish Health. This program encourages good exercise and eating habits early in life. 

This is a nine week program that is now installed in Illinois schools that teaches girls all about how many calories there is a Big Mac as well as how many nutrients might be in that Big Mac as well.  Some of the components of the program are interactive, such as the My Pyramid feature, which allows a student to see what she needs to eat for that day. Seeing as heart disease is such a leading killer of women wouldn’t it be a perfect world if the Heart Smart for Teens were in all public schools in North America?

A bad marriage can not only break your heart but according to a story aired on CNN it can also cause physical heart trouble. The Archives of National Medicine in the U.K.  published a study done at the University of Medicine in London about the effect of toxic relationships on the heart. 

In a study of 9,011 British civil servants, most of them married, those with the worst close relationships were 34 percent more likely to have heart attacks or other heart trouble during 12 years of follow-up than those with good relationships. That included partners, close relatives and friends. 

Another study that was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine reported that women who kept silent during domestic fights were more likely to die early then those that didn’t.  The study was done on 4000 people in a ten-year period.  Women, the next time you are fighting with your spouse you might want to speak out. It could save your life.

Concerned parents are flocking to exercise programs aimed at young children in an attempt to help set them up for a lifetime of fitness and good health. Baby yoga, toddlercise, and swimming are all gaining in popularity as a result.

But some experts fear that while the intentions may be in the right place, rigorous exercise is not helpful for very young children and may even be harmful.

But while such classes may be fun, do they have any real physical benefit? Not according to Professor Eric Small, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) committee on sports medicine and fitness. “Very young children aren’t capable of the sustained exercise needed to improve cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility,” he says. “Fitness is an adult concept.”

What most concerns experts is that children’s skeletons simply aren’t equipped to cope with the sometimes demanding forms of exercise in infant classes.

“Young bodies aren’t capable of the sustained activity required to improve cardiovascular health, strength and flexibility,” Prof Small says, adding that “the fragility of a child’s bones can set them up for injury” when they are forced into unnatural positions.

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Editor’s note: a significant difference between when people my age and older grew up and now is the amount of time spent in front of a television or video game console. Severely limiting those two activities will likely do more to encourage kids to get playtime activity than structured classes could ever hope to.