Healthier kids may get better grades, and cardiorespiratory fitness may determine their scores

Healthier kids may get better grades, and cardiorespiratory fitness may determine their scores A new study finds that among U.S. middle school students, those who are physically fit are more likely to do better at...

Healthier kids may get better grades. A new study finds that among U.S. middle school students, those who are physically fit are more likely to score higher on standardized tests of reading and math ability. According to HealthDay News, the study's findings showed a correlation between rising student average scores and improved health. Petry, the study's lead author, is director of the Center for Sport Psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton. He said the fitter the children were, the higher their scores were. Petry said parents should encourage their children to be more active. Physical fitness can bring certain real-life cognitive and academic benefits. The study's results will be reported Friday at the American Psychological Association's annual convention. The conference is held in Orlando, Florida. The study included more than 1,200 middle school students, 561 boys and 650 girls, from five suburban schools in Texas. About 57% of these children are white, nearly a quarter are Hispanic, 9% are black, and about 2% are Asian. School districts provided researchers with information about children's race, age, grade level and whether they were eligible for the free school lunch program. The latter is an indicator of the socioeconomic status of the child's family. Each school also provided the researchers with the test scores of the children. Children's fitness tests are conducted during their physical education classes to determine their cardiorespiratory fitness indicators as well as their body mass index (BMI). BMI is an indicator of how much body fat a person has. The children were also asked to fill out questionnaires to help researchers determine factors such as the children's self-esteem and social support. The results found that boys and girls with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness were predicted to score better on math and reading tests.