A new study conducted by US researchers has revealed that children who are aerobically fit tend to have greater brain capacities compared to those who are un-fit.
Researchers used brain imaging to scan a group of 24 children aged 9-10, for levels of white matter. The participants were all similar in health and had no disabilities that could affect the results of the experiment.
The brain scans showed that those who were physically fit had more white matter in their brain, compared to those who were less physically fit.
White matter is the name given to the clumps of white nerve fibres, which carry signals around the various regions of the brain and are a indication of good memory.
Laura Chaddock-Heyman of Illinois University, who has been involved with the project, said:
"'Previous studies suggest that children with higher levels of aerobic fitness show greater brain volumes in gray-matter brain regions important for memory and learning'. 'Now for the first time we explored how aerobic fitness relates to white matter in children's brains."
Dr Mark Hamer of UCL's Physical Activity Research Group (PARG) said
" This is a very interesting study and is consistent with some of our findings where we show an association between sedentary behaviour (TV/screen time) and psychological health in children. Basically the more sedentary, less fit children have worse mental health after we account for a range of other factors such as social status, etc. The bottom line is that more and more evidence is demonstrating the importance of fitness and activity for brain health in children"
The ISEH is taking steps to help improve the health in the UK, by encouraging more children and young people to take part in physical activity.
The ISEH and UCL have partnered up with Proactive Camden to maintain an exciting and innovative physical activity initiative called 'Camden Active Spaces', which aims to inspire schoolchildren to be more active, via good playground design and use of outdoor space.
As part of the project, designers have worked with children in six schools across Camden to design unique structures for their playgrounds. These are currently being built for the new school year, with the aim of inspiring children and their families to be more active and healthy.
Increasingly, sedentary lifestyles are threatening the nation's health, so the aim is to encourage younger people to exercise by giving them an alternative to playing indoors and 'screen time.'
Read Dr Mark Hamer's paper on Psychological Distress, Television Viewing, and Physical Activity in Children.
Read more about the Camden Active Spaces Project