Study Finds Correlation Between Exercise And Success

Ridge Review

http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/articleid/574760/newspaperid/4137/Study_finds_correlation_between_success_and_exercise_among_teens.aspx

Teachers and parents always seem to tell teens to be active and participate in school sports because they will consequently excel academically and socially too, but a recent study may suggest otherwise.

The study in question, conducted by the Netherlands-based Trimbos Institute, probes into whether routine exercise makes teens be more outgoing and confident, or if outgoing and confident teens just tend to play sports. Seven thousand Dutch students were surveyed from ages 11-16 about their physical activity and self-image.

The study found that inactive teens are about eight to ten percent more likely to have internal problems, such as depression or anxiety, and are about six percent more likely to have external problems, such as aggression or substance abuse. The study also found that teens playing on sports teams had more friends than those who did not. In other words, the study found that teenagers who exercise, even just casually, are more mentally and socially stable than those who do not; but the cause of this difference remains unexplained. The findings lead right back to the same chicken and egg conundrum the Trimbos Institute had their hands on in the first place: does exercise make teens become confident or are confident teens more likely to want to exercise?

Study Finds Correlation Between Exercise And Success

Ridge Review

http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/articleid/574760/newspaperid/4137/Study_finds_correlation_between_success_and_exercise_among_teens.aspx

Teachers and parents always seem to tell teens to be active and participate in school sports because they will consequently excel academically and socially too, but a recent study may suggest otherwise.

The study in question, conducted by the Netherlands-based Trimbos Institute, probes into whether routine exercise makes teens be more outgoing and confident, or if outgoing and confident teens just tend to play sports. Seven thousand Dutch students were surveyed from ages 11-16 about their physical activity and self-image.

The study found that inactive teens are about eight to ten percent more likely to have internal problems, such as depression or anxiety, and are about six percent more likely to have external problems, such as aggression or substance abuse. The study also found that teens playing on sports teams had more friends than those who did not. In other words, the study found that teenagers who exercise, even just casually, are more mentally and socially stable than those who do not; but the cause of this difference remains unexplained. The findings lead right back to the same chicken and egg conundrum the Trimbos Institute had their hands on in the first place: does exercise make teens become confident or are confident teens more likely to want to exercise?