exercise and GPA

hmmmm...

hmmmmmmmmmm...

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

i'm not going to say too much about this, i'll just let you read it for yourself:

• http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/03/does-increased-activity-mean-higher-gpa/?hpt=Sbin

you can add this to the litany of things i've posted here regarding the benefits of exercise. it's just not physical. and note that they're not really asking for a lot of activity--just 20 minutes per day, which really isn't that much (especially considering that most people i know are maintaining weekly averages of at least 1 hour per day)...20 minutes isn't even enough time for most people to get cleaned up and dressed in the morning.

so for all those students out there griping about how much blubbery weight they've gained while in school (freshman 15, sophomore 50, junior 100, senior don't-even-ask, and all of it 100% prime US grade AAA pure unadulterated jiggly squishy juicy greasy fat) for the sake of studying: maybe it's time to rethink things a bit. based on this, it's entirely possible that your willingness to take on a decrease in fitness in exchange for an increase in grades was based on the wrong logic. if the study referenced in this article is true, the right logic works the other way, with an increase in fitness driving an increase in GPA.

in other words students need to get off their (fat) butts and get themselves into gear. which echoes something one of my coaches always said: lazy body = lazy spirit = lazy mind (reference: sirloin). and the mirror does not lie.

i'm definitely curious as to what the follow-up studies they mention are going to find.

but in the meantime: no excuses, kids.

Does increased activity mean higher GPA?
By Georgiann Caruso
CNN Medical Associate Producer

Twenty minutes of daily vigorous physical activity among college students may lead them to have grade point averages about .4 higher, on a scale of 4.0, compared with students who do not exercise.

A study presented Thursday at the American College of Sport Medicine's annual meeting demonstrated the relationship and reinforced the notion that exercise reduces stress, improves performance and increases a sense of well-being.

Joshua Ode supervised the study at a university in the northern U.S., of students ages 18-22. Ode said, "If the students are improving in the classroom, it may create a better campus environment. You're creating more successful students, which is the goal of universities."

Researchers studied 266 undergraduates and defined moderate activity as those exercises which don't make you sweat or breathe hard, and vigorous activity for those which do, of any type. Their findings were consistent regardless of gender or major.

Ode said one of the next questions for further study should include the impact of activity on GPA throughout college.

And it doesn't have to be seven days a week, Ode said. But the research suggests the more often, the better.