The relationship between physical fitness and intelligence

 

Exercise activates every part of the human body, in the same way exercise also increases human memory and thinking abilities. In a new study, scientists have revealed that physical activity is not only beneficial for adults but also for children. Research has shown that physical activity or exercise improves children's intelligence as well as their performance in the field of education. This important research was published by the University of Granada in Spain.

Characteristics of research

Research has shown that children who are physically fit have larger frontal, temporal and calcarine cortex areas of the brain. These are the parts of the brain, which are responsible for performing all the 'executive functions'. Additionally, these parts of the brain play an important role in learning, developing motor skills and developing visual perception in children. Motor skills refer to the abilities of children, which improve the ability of the brain, nervous system and muscles to work together.

Goals

The aim of the research was to find out how the mental abilities of physically fit and obese children functioned differently compared to their peers and less physically active children and how this affected their academic performance. ?

Francisco B. Arteaga, lead researcher at the University of Grenada's Sports and Health Institute, says, "The answer to this question is short and powerful: yes, physical fitness and obesity are characterized in many ways directly by children's important brain skills. are connected to the parts, which can be seen reflected in their academic performance”.

The research, published in the journal NeuroImage, is part of the 'Active Brains Project'. In the research, clinical experiments were conducted on more than one hundred children aged 8 to 11 years who were overweight and obese. Research has found that children's motor skills play an important role in developing two parts of their brains, which are related to language learning and reading fluency. However, the researchers did not find evidence of a relationship between muscle strength and mental abilities at any point throughout the study.

The lead author of the study is Irene Esteban Cornejo, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Grenada. She says that there is clear evidence that physical fitness and movement increase the cognitive abilities of children's outer (cortical) and subcortical (subcortical) parts of the brain. Another important point Dr. Cornejo made in his research is as follows: “Physical fitness is a trait that can be enhanced by physical exercise. 

If physical exercise is also included to increase children's aerobic capacity and motor skills, it can not only accelerate the speed of improving children's mental abilities, but also improve their academic performance. .

The problem of weight gain in children

The number of overweight and obese children is increasing worldwide. In 1990, the number of such children was 3 crore 20 lakh, which has increased to 4 crore 10 by 2016. Compared to developed countries, the problem of childhood obesity is more serious in developing countries, where the number of such children is increasing more rapidly. 

According to experts, this is because the pace at which people's incomes are increasing in developing countries is changing the way families live and eat. The University of Grenada researchers urge policy makers and educators to implement the findings of this research in their educational institutions and make physical education a mandatory part of the curriculum.

What should parents do?

Research has said that parents have a more important role in improving children's physical fitness than educational institutions, because many habits have become part of children's personality and habits before entering school, including parental training. The process is interrupted. For example: What kind of environment did parents provide for their children to adopt physical activities? Some parents seem to urge their children to be careful all the time for fear of falling and getting hurt, which not only makes them fragile but also affects their physical fitness. 

Additionally, parents are the ones who instill healthy food choices and eating habits in children. Most parents give up on their children before their children eat anything healthy other than junk food. Such parental behavior further encourages this behavior in children, whereby they tend to eat more junk food and run away from healthy foods.