HHS HealthBeat (April 10, 2008)

Schoolwork, school workout

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

There’s only so much time in a school day. If you hit the gym floor instead of the books, will your grades suffer?

Researchers looked at that in data on kids followed from kindergarten through fifth grade. The study was in the American Journal of Public Health.

Susan Carlson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says physical education didn’t hurt kids’ academic education. And she says some girls seemed to do a bit better in math and reading with more physical education.

Carlson sees her findings as arguing against the idea that time spent in physical education will cut into test scores.

``Offering students the opportunity for physical activity through physical education will not negatively affect their academic achievement.’’ (7 seconds)

And Carlson says kids’ health could benefit if there were more active play and exercise.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011