Physical activity and IQ

Physical activity has been proven to boost a person's mental capacity. It's been shown to reduce anxiety and mitigate the effects of Alzheimer's risk, bipolarism, and a host of other neurological functions. It is recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as effective as drugs such a Zoloft. Another unsurprising but overlooked benefit: direct correlation to IQ and test scores in children.

In a time when schools are strapped for funding and more and more cuts are made, it seems logical to cut out the "extraneous" programs such as music, art, and PE. While it may seem like a good idea to boost our kids' education with more English and math, school curriculum ought to also teach the virtues of health and wellness with PE. This enables students for lifelong health, and secondarily can boost their intelligence.

California looked at 800,000 data points from middle school students and determined that the more physical fitness baselines they met, the higher their test scores. Sweden also found a direct correlation in 15- to 18-year-olds where a higher cardiovascular fitness resulted in subsequently higher IQ scores.

The reasoning behind all this isn't that intelligent people are more likely to go for runs or to want to exercise. It isn't that a person with "smart genes" also has "athletic genes." It's been found that simply increasing the blood flow into the cranium has an astounding effect.

A sedentary, inactive brain seems to have a disadvantaged circulation of chemicals that stimulate neuroplasticity (brain development) and can lead to later-life problems like dementia, Alzheimer's and depression. Increased blood flow has been shown to boost memory, enhance problem-solving capabilities, and even give adolescents a leg up in decision-making processes.

There is no doubting that our society faces a plague of disease based upon not exercising enough and eating too much. Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes cost our country, and affect the lives of many. Arming youth against these diseases of culture ought to begin in school. A PE program can be useful in many ways; higher test scores, better classroom behavior (less fidgety kids), healthy functional brains and bodies, and better overall attitudes and mental well-being.

Those who might see PE programs in school as a waste of taxpayer dollars should look into the healthcare costs of depression, dementia, and other disorders that are only becoming more and more prevalent. We can't deduce that PE will simply solve the problem. PE, however, can be the beginning of a lifelong attitude and practice of basic fitness hygiene.