If fit, your child will be good at maths

Kids who are physically fit and active, a new study suggests, may have differences in their brain structures that might aid them to do substantially better at math.

A small group of children aged 9 and 10 were put to the test by a team of researchers. They were tested mentally by being given standardised math and reading exams and physically by testing their endurance on a treadmill. Magnetic Resonance Imaging was used to scan their brains and it was found that children who could run longer had thinner sections of grey matter in the anterior of their brain, signifying more brain maturation than those with lower stamina. These children were found to run laps around their less fit partners when it came to math too.

Researcher Charles H. Hillman said, “It’s part of a natural process that the brain goes through a period of thinning during adolescence (as) brain connections that are deemed not necessary are thinned out. (Fit) kids may be further along in this maturation process.”

Hillman and his peers have done other studies that suggest that reading comprehension and other areas of academic performance may also be affected by the aforementioned changes in brain structure thus rubbishing the claim that it’s selective to only math.

Through physical education classes and recess, all children must be able to get an hour of moderate or vigorous activity every day in school, the report recommended. The report stated that achieving this goal would require participation from teachers and administration, as well as the use of school buildings and outdoor space.

Fitness not only leads to a heightened state of wellness but also being good at one of the most dreaded subject, mathematics.