Are you a parent that is concerned that your child is not getting enough physical activity or even someone who is concerned about the level of physical activity of our youth? I know that there are some days that I have to take my son, who is a toddler, with me to run errands and I feel guilty because he goes from sitting in the car seat, to sitting in the cart for an extended period of time, back to sitting in the car seat. On days where this is not the case he literally runs all day, nonstop, whether it is from one end of the house to the other, circles in the living room, or from the slide to a huge field to the climbing bars at the park. And I pray that this will continue as he gets older as much as it sometimes wears me out just watching him!

With many of the modern conveniences in our world as well as the cultural changes that have taken place, we are seeing activity rates decline in our youth (as well as in our adults). As we proceed down what most would call this dangerous path, more and more research is being published showing the amazing power physical activity has to benefit our health and functionality. One such study looked at the size of the brain as well as the performance on memory tasks in 9- and 10-year-olds with varying levels of physical fitness¹. Rather than relying on reports of physical activity amounts (or observational data), researchers from the University of Illinois measured actual oxygen use (VO₂) while running on a treadmill to determine fitness level. They also used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the relative size of the specific structures in the brain. Of particular interest for this study was the hippocampus, the part of the brain important for learning and memory. The subjects were also given a test of relational memory. It was found that those who were categorized as having a high fitness level (VO₂max above the 70^th percentile) had a hippocampal volume about 12% bigger relative to total brain size than those who fell in the low fitness category (VO₂max below the 30^th percentile). This structure in their brain was actually bigger or to put it another way—their brains “grew” more! Those in the higher fitness category also performed higher on relational memory tasks when compared to those in the low fitness category showing that this growth had an impact on cognitive performance.

There are many factors that affect brain development many of which we have little or no control over but this evidence suggests that physical activity, something that we CAN control, has an important effect on brain development. All the more reason to be sure our kids are getting the play that they need. Check out one of our past blogs, Physical Activity Links for Children, for some tips and resources on keeping kids active. What are some things that you think can help keep kids active? What are other benefits kids experience from being physically active?

1 Chaddock, L., Erickson, K.I., Prakash, R.S., & Kim, J.S., et al. (2010). A neuroimaging investigation of the association between aerobic fitness, hippocampal volume, and memory performance in preadolescent children. Brain Research, 1358, 172-183.