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Does eating too much fast food make children less intelligent? A study from Vanderbilt University found that children who ate at fast food restaurants often were more likely to score lower on reading and math tests:

• Dr. Kerri Tobin and her colleagues studied 5,500 children ages 10 and 11 years old.
• Half of the children who were studied ate fast food three times a week, 10 percent ate fast food four to six times a week, and two percent ate fast food four or more times a day.
• The ones who ate fast food four to six times a week scored seven points lower on math and reading tests, and the ones who ate there once a day or more scored 14 points lower.
• The researchers reported that both of these measures were "statistically significant."

Dr. Tobin said she was unsure if it was the fast food itself causing lower scores. She speculated that having parents who are "more lenient" could be the actual link to lower scores.

A spokesperson for McDonalds restaurants said that the majority of the fast food chain's customers visit a restaurant two or three times a month.

Health and fitness experts have long argued that the excessive consumption of fast food is a prime cause of rising rates of childhood obesity in the United States.

Labels: fast food, academics

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It's been well established that getting kids moving can have a positive effect on their weight and health. Now, a a small study from the University of Illinois has revealed that physical exercise might also improve children's mental abilities.

Dr. Charles Hillman and his colleagues had 20 nine-year-olds take tests in spelling, reading and math after they took a 20-minute rest, and then after they exercised for 20 minutes on a treadmill.

"What we found is that following the acute bout of walking, children performed better on the flanker tasks," Dr. Hillman said. "They had a higher rate of accuracy, especially when the task was more difficult."

Performance in reading comprehension was particularly better after exercising, Dr. Hillman said.

Dr. Hillman's co-author, Darla Castelli, recommended that each elementary school child have outdoor recess every day, and 150 minutes of physical education per week. High school students should get 225 minutes of physical education per week, she said.

This study appeared in the journal Neuroscience.

Labels: exercise, students, academics, studies

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