Salute to the Graduates 2011

By: Dave Gordon

Students who took part in a program that included physical exercise and learning scored over 50 percent better on tests. Younger students learned basic skills while moving around, and older students had exercise equipment with monitors attached that would show lessons. Among students who participated, the percentage achieving higher scores on a state test increased from 55 to 68 percent. The researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital suggest that these findings demonstrate the positive effects of exercise on the mind, as well as the body. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Denver.