Active Commuting to School and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents

Its official – cycling really does make you smarter, at least for girls anyway!  A study in Spain has found a correlation between walking or cycling to school and improved test scores amongst teenage girls, regardless of how much other exercise was undertaken.

The relationship between exercise and mental performance also seems to be linear.  The authors found that those who had an active commute of over 15mins performed better than those who had an active commute of under 15mins, who in turned performed better than those who had no active commute.

There was no conclusion as to whether or not it was the active commute or exercise in general that led to improved performance but everyone reading this blog knows just how good you feel after a morning ride.  Despite doctors recommending at least an hour of vigorous exercise daily for teens, less than half of US and Australian children manage to achieve this activity level.  One of main the reasons that 25% of Aussie kids are obese or overweight.  More kids riding to school would do a lot to reduce this.

David Martínez-Gómez, Jonatan R. Ruiz, Sonia Gómez-Martínez, Palma Chillón, J. Pablo Rey-López, Ligia E. Díaz, Ruth Castillo, Oscar L. Veiga, ‘Active Commuting to School and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents: The AVENA Study‘, Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, Dec 2010; doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.244

  • Edward Re

    I like it! I wish all parents could be forced to read this, and recognise the damage done to children by keeping them immobile in a steel cage!

  • GJGUARDIAN

    VERY FACTUAL REPORT. GOOD EFFORT ON YOUR RESEARCH. VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.  THANKS GUYS!

    • !#))^%%%%)^

      Very true, good work on highlighting the main aspects of the reporting skills. I quite like the way you were enthusiastic in your typing – nice work. Capitals tend to be the trend these days.
      I bet you’re one of the teenage girls that rides to school!