New York, New York - January 2, 2011
5 year-old Leah Hatley and her little sister Leslie are having a blast spinning around and bouncing at the playground.
"When I play outside it makes me reallier (sic) happy!" she said.
Their mom brings them here often to make sure they're getting plenty of exercise.
"We do not sit and watch TV, that's for sure! we do not do that. They need to stay active," said her mother Theresa.
A new study finds exercise may also help her children do well in school. Researchers in the Netherlands analyzed 14 studies from the U.S., Canada and South Africa and found strong evidence of a relationship between physical activity and academic performance.
"Increased circulation to the brain, it may have some positive effects in terms of the neurotransmitters, the chemicals that are responsible for behavior and learning and even in terms of attention span," said Dr. Andrew Adesman with Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center.
Most of the studies focused on the physical activity kids got at school, from gym class to sports clubs.Many school systems are cutting sports and phys ed programs to save money. Pediatricians hope these new findings will put an emphasis back on exercise.
"What we can't do is continue to cut physical activity from the schedule of children in grade school with the thought that it's going to improve their academics. In fact it may work against us," said Adesman
"Leah gets at least 45 minutes at recess everyday. First quarter she has straight A's, so I must be doing something right!"said Theresa Hatley.
Researchers say more studies are needed to figure out how much exercise would produce learning benefits. Experts recommend kids and teens stay physically active for about an hour or more each day.
