A study by the universities of Strathclyde and Dundee suggests that intensive exercise improves the academic performance of teenagers. The study, of around 5,000 children, found links between exercise and exam success in English, maths and science and found an increase in performance for every extra 17 minutes boys exercised, and 12 minutes for girls. The effect was noticeably large for girls in science classes.

Interestingly the study suggested that children who carried out regular exercise, not only did better academically at 11 but also at 13 and in their exams at 16.
Unfortunately the research also showed that most of the teenagers’ exercise levels were well below the recommended 60 minutes a day.

Their findings prompted the authors to speculate on what might happen to academic performance if children increased the amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity they did to the recommended 60 minutes,
They claimed that since every 15 minutes of exercise improved performance by an average of about a quarter of a grade, it was possible children who carried out 60 minutes of exercise every day could improve their academic performance by a full grade - for example, from a C to a B, or a B to an A. However, the authors acknowledged this was speculation given that very few children did anywhere near this amount of exercise.

The authors of the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, said further research backing the findings could have implications for public health and education policy.

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