A new research study shows that better physical fitness in teenagers is associated with higher intelligence.
Researchers from Sweden and USC examined data on 1.2 million Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976 who also enlisted for the country’s mandatory military service. They looked at the participants’ global intelligence scores as well as logical, visuospatial, verbal and technical scores. The greater the cardiovascular fitness, the higher the cognitive scores at age 18.
The authors come to the conclusion that it is the exercise that makes the teenagers more intelligent.
The study found that having better cardiovascular health as a teenager was linked to not only higher scores on intelligence tests, but more education and a higher income years down the road.
The study authors also determined that those who showed cardiovascular fitness improvements between age 15 and 18 had higher intelligence scores than those whose fitness levels dropped.
But you could just as easily come to the conclusion that being more intelligent led teenagers to take better care of themselves, to work harder and to pursue fitness goals.
An energetic attitude toward life is consistent with both improved physical health and mental health.
Therefore it is no surprise that teenagers that are more active are also more intelligent. Intelligence and fitness are characteristics of individuals who are making the most of their abilities.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/12/fit-teens-could-be-smarter-teens.html
