Story at a glance
- A new study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports examined the role of diet and exercise in children’s thinking.
- Researchers found children who spend more time playing sports and reading have better thinking skills than those who don’t.
- They also found that kids who ate less red meat and drank low-fat milk had better thinking skills than those who don’t.
Kids who play organized sports and less time on the computer are smarter, according to a new Finnish study.
The study, recently published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, looked at the effects of diet and physical activity on 504 elementary school students over two years.
Researchers found that children who spent more time playing on supervised organized sports teams and reading had better thinking skills than those who did not.
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Likewise, researchers also found that children who spent more time on the computer without adult supervision had worse thinking skills.
Research shows that children across the globe are not getting enough exercise. One 2016 study found that 81 percent of children aged 11 to 17 were physically inactive.
The study’s findings add to the existing body of work that points to how physical activity is good for children’s overall health.
Regular physical activity can help build strong bones and muscles while improving heart health among children and adolescents, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Moving around is also good for children’s mental health, with research showing that exercise can reduce anxiety and depression.
In the same study, Finnish researchers also found that diet played a role in children’s thinking.
Researchers found that children who ate less red meat and sausages and drank more low-fat milk had better thinking skills than those who didn’t.
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