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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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?

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.

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.

Carrel and his team worked with teachers and staff at a local school to develop the fitness program. To increase the amount of time spent in action during the class, children did not change clothes, and began warm-up immediately. Kids were active for 42 of the 45 classroom minutes. Activities included lifestyle-focused activities like bicycling and walking. Classes were small, with 12 to 14 kids each.

The researchers divided 55 overweight kids into two groups, with one participating in traditional gym class and the other in the new class. In the regular gym class, which included 35 to 40 students, Carrel and his team note, kids spent only about 25 minutes on the move.

At the end of the study, students in the new class lost about twice as much bodyfat as those int he traditional class.

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