Four ways active kids get better grades

You may have hit the stores and bought the notebooks, pencils and supplies your kid needs for school, but you may be forgetting something that could give your kid the greatest advantage of all – a physical activity plan.

According to the 2009 Active Healthy Kids Canada report card, only 13% of children are getting the activity they need and that could be hurting, not just their health, but their grades, too. The report quotes a study from Ontario that found that living schools (those with focus on extra physical activity and healthier foods) showed a 36% increase in reading scores and 24% in math scores. This is just one of many studies showing that the brain gets big benefits from the level of activity the body does. "In recent years, a lot of educators have been concerned about lower marks in math and reading," says Dr. Rachel Colley, Research Coordinator for the Active Healthy Kids Canada report card. "They've taken time away from physical education (PE) and allotted more to traditional academics, thinking that will improve grades. However, there is now a lot of data showing that taking time away from PE may be detrimental to academics."

Here are the four ways that Dr. Colley says physical activity may help your kids at school:

1. It enhances memory and learning. In particular, Dr. Colley says that physical activity appears to increases brain size and function in areas involved in the thought process (cognition) and problem solving (executive processing). Physical activity may also help protect against injury or diseases of the brain by encouraging the development of new nerve cells.
2. It improves concentration and attention span. "When you talk to teachers, they often tell you that the concentration of their kids is better in academic classes after recess or PE. This may have to do with an increase in adrenaline or blood flow to the brain."
3. It's associated with improved self-esteem and confidence. "Physical activity has been shown to improve mood and self-esteem. And kids who are more confident are more likely to engage in the classroom," she says.
4. It may help reduce hyperactivity and misbehaviour. "When kids have too much extra energy, they are restless and they can't stay focused on one subject. They may act out or become difficult to control," Dr. Colley says. "Often, these kids just need to blow off their extra energy."

Upping activity on a school day

The next step is to ensure your kid is getting enough activity to see these benefits. The report card showed that only 13% of Canadian kids are reaching the recommended amount of 90 minutes of physical activity a day. However, that's an increase from the 9% reported in the 2008 Report Card from a survey led by the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. "We're encouraged that we may finally be on our way up. It's exciting that we're tracking this every year because this will allow us to keep a close eye on the situation. Hopefully that number will continue to creep up," says Dr. Colley.

To increase activity levels, find out how many times per week your child will have PE class and ask if your school schedules 20 minutes of Daily Physical Activity (DPA) in the classrooms. Try to schedule time after school for physical activity in all forms – from organized sports to free play – on days without PE class.