Practicing sports daily favors academic performance

Children and adolescents between 5 and 17 years old exclusively dedicate one third of their school time to physical activities, according to a study carried out by the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO). As indicated by the WHO, if young people in Spain belonging to this age group increased the number of physical activity, they would notice a positive impact on their school performance as well as their health and well-being.

"Physical activity is beneficial for the development of cognitive, motor and social skills, as well as for a good metabolic and musculoskeletal health. There is also a chain effect on academic performance," said the technician from the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), Stephen Whiting.

However, currently the trend is for children and adolescents to sedentary activities in educational results, to which is added the change in the emphasis of physical education and sports activities to favor obtaining good results in tests in academic subjects.

"The traditional school approach has been 'indoors to learn, outdoors to play'But education systems around the world are realizing the impact of the outdoors on learning, "Alex Harrison, professor at the British International School in the Czech Republic, has detailed.

More exercise, higher performance

The WHO General Review has based its study on a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyzes that reflect how physical activity affects academic performance around the world. "It is difficult to measure the direct impact of physical activity on academic performance in any child or group of children, as it can be influenced by many different factors: physiological, cognitive, social and environmental ", Whiting stressed.

In fact, the WHO has found that academic performance increased when more time was devoted to physical education, that is, when there was a change from sitting activities to more "active" classrooms and regular physical activity, such as walking, dancing, and playing sports during the week.

Finally, and for all these reasons, the WHO has advised the teachers carry out training that encourages physical activity, the creation of adequate spaces, materials and resources, the promotion of innovation and alliances with community organizations.