Young adults who exercise 'have a higher IQ'
The debate over brains versus brawn has been raging for centuries, but a new study has suggested that the two may actually be related.
New research in Sweden has claimed that people who exercise, specifically young adults, are likely to have a higher IQ.
According to specialists at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, a greater number of young adults who regularly take part in physical activity will go on to university.
The findings were published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) following a study involving 1.2 million Swedish men doing military service who were born between 1950 and 1976.
Experts from the research group analysed the results of both physical and IQ tests when the men enrolled and the data showed a clear link between good physical fitness and better results for the IQ test.
Michael Nilsson, professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy and chief physician at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, told private health cover holders that the strongest links are for logical thinking and verbal comprehension, but it is only fitness that plays a role in the results for the IQ test, and not strength.
"Being fit means that you also have good heart and lung capacity and that your brain gets plenty of oxygen. This may be one of the reasons why we can see a clear link with fitness, but not with muscular strength. We are also seeing that there are growth factors that are important," he said.
In order to make the study as accurate as possible, the experts analysed the results for twins and found that the same pattern applied - the more physically active of the pair had a higher IQ.
Maria Aberg, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy and physician at Aby health centre, told those with affordable health insurance that the findings also indicate that youngsters who improve their physical fitness between the ages of 15 and 18 increase their cognitive performance.
"This being the case, physical education is a subject that has an important place in schools and is an absolute must if we want to do well in maths and other theoretical subjects," she advised.
The specialists said that further tests showed that men who were fit at the age of 18 had a greater chance of going into a job with a better salary and higher qualification requirements.
According to the team, further studies will attempt to ascertain at what age exercise ceases to have a cognitive and emotional impact on development.
Posted by Louise Jones
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