- Title: Exercise improves brain fitness of obese children, says study
- Date: 23rd April 2018
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRANCISCO ORTEGA, UNIVERSITY OF GRANADA (UGR), LEADER OF ACTIVEBRAINS PROJECT, SAYING: "The existing information until this moment was mainly focused on animal models and also on elderly people, with Alzheimer's and other diseases at the end of life. But looking at how exercise can improve cognition and brain in children in a very crucial period of life and sensitive period of life when changes can be important, it's pretty unique. And there is at the moment barely no data on how interventions and physical exercise can improve specific dimensions of the brain."
- Embargoed: 7th May 2018 11:57
- Keywords: child exercise childhood obesity University of Granada Activebrains
- Location: GRANADA, SPAIN
- Reuters ID: LVA0078CNHW7V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:University of Granada (UGR) researchers have shown that physical fitness in children can affect their brain structure and improve their academic performance.
Testing the physical fitness and brains of more than 100 overweight or obese children in the Spanish city, they showed that children's aerobic capacity and motor ability is associated with a greater volume of grey matter in several cortical and subcortical brain regions.
"We did a whole brain analysis, not only examining aerobic fitness but also motor ability and muscular strength. The study is unique," said Irene Esteban-Cornejo, postdoctoral researcher and main author of a paper on the project published in Neuroimage journal.
Cristina Cadenas, researcher at UGR's Activebrains Project, told Reuters that sessions consisted of 60 minutes of aerobic activity followed by 30 minutes testing children's muscular strength.
"All the activity is done through games, in order to encourage children and to play, to enjoy doing activity," said Cadenas of the ongoing project.
According to project leader Francisco Ortega: "Most previous research in this field focused on animal models and elderly people with Alzheimer's and other end-of-life diseases. Looking at how exercise can improve cognition and brain in children in a very crucial period of life is unique. There's barely any data on how interventions and physical exercise can improve specific dimensions of the brain."
Participants underwent brain scans before and after fitness sessions carried out at UGR's Sport and Health Institute (IMUDS) and the Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC).
Data showed motor ability led to greater grey matter volume in two regions essential for language processing and reading: the inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. Muscular strength showed no association with grey matter volume.
"We found that aerobic capacity was associated with higher grey matter volume in different brain regions, such as the frontal region, premotor cortex and supplementary motor cortex," said Esteban-Cornejo. "Also in some cortical regions such as the hippocampus or caudate, as well as in different temporal regions in the calcarine cortex. These regions are key for executive function and learning."
Esteban-Cornejo says the research shows the specific benefits of physical fitness on the academic performance of the overweight and obese.
"The different brain regions that were influenced by physical fitness were related to academic performance in the areas of mathematics, writing, and reading."
The team says the research should encourage governments and education authorities to prioritise physical education.
"We've showed that physical education classes are important, not only for improving the physical and mental health of people, but also potentially their academic achievement. If we are aiming to improve the academic achievement of children it's not a good to reduce the time devoted to physical education but the opposite." - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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