"The goal of the study was to see if a single acute bout of moderate exercise - walking - was beneficial for cognitive function in a period of time afterward," said lead researcher Charles Hillman, director of the Neurocognitive Kinesiology Laboratory at Illinois.
Results of the study suggest that physical activity may increase students' cognitive control - or ability to pay attention - and also result in better performance on academic achievement tests.
From the articles: As school districts across the nation revamped curricula to meet requirements of the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act, opportunities for children to be physically active during the school day diminished significantly.
Future mandates, however, might be better served by taking into account findings from a University of Illinois study suggesting the academic benefits of physical education classes, recess periods and after-school exercise programs. The research, led by Charles Hillman, a professor of kinesiology and community health and the director of the Neurocognitive Kinesiology Laboratory at Illinois, suggests that physical activity may increase students' cognitive control - or ability to pay attention - and also result in better performance on academic achievement tests. "The goal of the study was to see if a single acute bout of moderate exercise - walking - was beneficial for cognitive function in a period of time afterward," Hillman said. "This question has been asked before by our lab and others, in young adults and older adults, but it's never been asked in children. That's why it's an important question."
For each of three testing criteria, researchers noted a positive outcome linking physical activity, attention and academic achievement.
Study participants were 9-year-olds (eight girls, 12 boys) who performed a series of stimulus-discrimination tests known as flanker tasks, to assess their inhibitory control.
On one day, students were tested following a 20-minute resting period; on another day, after a 20-minute session walking on a treadmill. Students were shown congruent and incongruent stimuli on a screen and asked to push a button to respond to incongruencies. During the testing, students were outfitted with an electrode cap to measure electroencephalographic (EEG) activity.
"What we found is that following the acute bout of walking, children performed better on the flanker task," Hillman said. "They had a higher rate of accuracy, especially when the task was more difficult. Along with that behavioral effect, we also found that there were changes in their event-related brain potentials (ERPs) - in these neuroelectric signals that are a covert measure of attentional resource allocation."
One aspect of the neuroelectric activity of particular interest to researchers is a measure referred to as the P3 potential. Hillman said the amplitude of the potential relates to the allocation of attentional resources.
"What we found in this particular study is, following acute bouts of walking, children had a larger P3 amplitude, suggesting that they are better able to allocate attentional resources, and this effect is greater in the more difficult conditions of the flanker test, suggesting that when the environment is more noisy - visual noise in this case - kids are better able to gate out that noise and selectively attend to the correct stimulus and act upon it."
In an effort to see how performance on such tests relates to actual classroom learning, researchers next administered an academic achievement test. The test measured performance in three areas: reading, spelling and math.
Again, the researchers noted better test results following exercise.
"And when we assessed it, the effect was largest in reading comprehension," Hillman said. In fact, he said, "If you go by the guidelines set forth by the Wide Range Achievement Test, the increase in reading comprehension following exercise equated to approximately a full grade level.
"Thus, the exercise effect on achievement is not statistically significant, but a meaningful difference."
Hillman said he's not sure why the students' performance on the spelling and math portions of the test didn't show as much of an improvement as did reading comprehension, but suspects it may be related to design of the experiment. Students were tested on reading comprehension first, leading him to speculate that too much time may have elapsed between the physical activity and the testing period for those subjects.
"Future attempts will definitely look at the timing," he said. Subsequent testing also will introduce other forms of physical-activity testing.
"Treadmills are great," Hillman said. "But kids don't walk on treadmills, so it's not an externally valid form of exercise for most children. We currently have an ongoing project that is looking at treadmill walking at the same intensity relative to a Wii Fit game - which is a way in which kids really do exercise."
Still, given the preliminary study's positive outcomes on the flanker task, ERP data and academic testing, study co-author Darla Castelli believes these early findings could be used to inform useful curricular changes.
"Modifications are very easy to integrate," Castelli said. For example, she recommends that schools make outside playground facilities accessible before and after school.
"If this is not feasible because of safety issues, then a school-wide assembly containing a brief bout of physical activity is a possible way to begin each day," she said. "Some schools are using the Intranet or internal TV channels to broadcast physical activity sessions that can be completed in each classroom."
Among Castelli's other recommendations for school personnel interested in integrating physical activity into the curriculum:
* scheduling outdoor recess as a part of each school day;
* offering formal physical education 150 minutes per week at the elementary level, 225 minutes at the secondary level;
* encouraging classroom teachers to integrate physical activity into learning.
An example of how physical movement could be introduced into an actual lesson would be "when reading poetry (about nature or the change of seasons), students could act like falling leaves," she said.
The U. of I. study appears in the current issue of the journal Neuroscience. Along with Castelli and Hillman, co-authors are U. of I. psychology professor Art Kramer and kinesiology and community health graduate student Mathew Pontifex and undergraduate Lauren Raine.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Most Shared: Exercise Makes Kids Learn, Focus Better
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Most Popular: Setting Your Optimum Running Speed
Runners, if your body is telling you that your pace is too fast or too slow, you should listen up.
The long-standing view that running has the same metabolic cost per unit of time no matter the speed has officialy been debunked by recent studies. It turns out that the efficiency of energy burnt by running varies with speed, and each individual has an optimal pace. While measuring runners' metabolic rates at a range of speeds, research proves that energy costs increase at both fast and slow speeds. Ultimately, an intermediate pace provides maximal efficiency.
From the article:Runners, listen up: If your body is telling you that your pace feels a little too fast or a little too slow, it may be right.
A new study, published online March 18 in the Journal of Human Evolution, shows that the efficiency of human running varies with speed and that each individual has an optimal pace at which he or she can cover the greatest distance with the least effort. The result debunks the long-standing view that running has the same metabolic cost per unit of time no matter the speed -- in other words, that the energy needed to run a given distance is the same whether sprinting or jogging.
Though sprinting feels more demanding in the short term, the longer time and continued exertion required to cover a set distance at a slower pace were thought to balance out the difference in metabolic cost, says Karen Steudel, a zoology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
However, Steudel and Cara Wall-Scheffler of Seattle Pacific University have now shown that the energetic demands of running change at different speeds. "What that means is that there is an optimal speed that will get you there the cheapest," metabolically speaking, Steudel says.
Peak efficiency was determined by measuring runners' metabolic rates at a range of speeds enforced by a motorized treadmill. Metabolic energy costs increased at both fast and slow speeds and revealed an intermediate pace of maximal efficiency.
The most efficient running speed determined in the study varied between individuals but averaged about 8.3 miles per hour for males and 6.5 miles per hour for females in a group of nine experienced amateur runners. Much of the gender difference may be due to variations in body size and leg length, which have been shown to affect running mechanics, Steudel says. In general, the larger and taller runners had faster optimum speeds.
Interestingly, the slowest speeds -- around 4.5 miles per hour, or about a 13-minute mile -- were the least metabolically efficient, which Steudel attributes to the gait transition between walking and running. For example, she points out, both a very fast walk and a very slow run can feel physically awkward.
While holding great interest for athletes and trainers, the mechanics of running may also hold clues to the evolution of the modern human body form: tall and long-limbed with broad chests and defined waists.
Modern humans are very efficient walkers and fairly good runners, Steudel says, and efficient locomotion probably provided our ancestors with an advantage for hunting and gathering food. Distant ancestral forms, the australopithecines, had shorter, boxier frames with stubbier legs.
"They wouldn't have had noticeable waists -- their torso looked more like the torso of an ape, except they were walking on two legs," Steudel says. "With the genus Homo, you start getting taller individuals, larger individuals, and they started developing a more linear body form" with distinct waists that pivot easily, allowing longer and more efficient strides.
Human walking is also known to have an optimally efficient speed, so the new findings may help researchers determine the relative importance of the different gaits in driving human evolution, Steudel says. "This is a piece in the question of whether walking or running was more important in the evolution of the body form of the genus Homo."
Friday, March 6, 2009
Staying Healthy in a Tough Economy
With the economy in a state of decline, it is difficult for many Americans to afford health care. Visits to doctors are down 10 percent to 15 percent and many individuals are not taking their medicines as prescribed. However, there are certain measures that can be taken to lessen the burden while facing tough economic times.
While many individuals are dealing with cutbacks, it is important that health care remain a top priority, says A. Mark Fendrick, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and professor of health management and policy at the U-M School of Public Health.
Approximately one in nine individuals is cutting pills, taking them every other day or doing something the doctor did not recommend. Fendrick says, "Cutting back on health care without consulting your clinician is a very risky decision. It may not only have an impact on your health, but also have a worsening economic consequence that will lead to greater costs down the road when minor health concerns become major health issues."
Fendrick suggests that people continue to follow up with their recommended screenings and immunizations and consult their clinicians before cutting back on health care. Although these preventative measures may cost you now, they are among the most important investments you can make to protect your health and may save you money in the long run.
There are affordable programs available to help individuals facing economic difficulties. Ask your doctor's office or search online for information about decreasing or eliminating the costs of health insurance and prescription medications.
During an economic crisis, individuals with and without insurance tend to use the emergency room as a form of primary care. However, doing so could take a spot from someone who truly needs emergency care, while also compromising your own care.
"You should really think about going to your primary care physician who knows your medical history, coordinates your follow up care and interacts with other doctors to make sure you're getting the highest quality care possible at the lowest cost," says Fendrick.
While the economy is forcing individuals to make difficult choices Fendrick puts it in perspective: "Remember your health is your most important asset, not your money."
Tips for healthy health care spending:
Wii Fit A Promising Tool For All Ages, Game Health Measurements Flawed
While some emerging technologies can create environments that require very little physical effort, one Kansas State University researcher thinks games like Nintendo's Wii Fit can help promote physical rather than sedentary activities for people of all ages.
"I think there is a great potential to develop ways to promote physical activity through technology," said David Dzewaltowski, professor and head of the department of kinesiology at K-State and director of the university's Community Health Institute. "Kids innately like to move, so I believe that there is a big future in games that use emerging technologies and require movement because the games will be enjoyed by children and also be more healthy than existing games."
In a commentary published in the October 2008 Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, Dzewaltowski discussed how technology is changing our everyday life and affecting our health.
Wii Fit has games that incorporate yoga, strength training, balance and aerobics. The games are interactive and require the player to physically move, which is better than nothing, Dzewaltowski said. It uses a balance board and allows gamers to simulate challenges like snowboarding down a mountain.
"Anything that gets people to move more than they have in the past is positive, but if people are trying to replace physical activity that demands more movement with the Wii, then that will be negative," Dzewaltowski said.
He said it is difficult in a small indoor space to replicate the intensity of some real-life physical activities, though dance video games are effective at demanding physical movements that require caloric expenditure.
"The caloric expenditure demanded by an activity depends on the energy necessary to move the body's weight to complete the task and how long you perform the task," Dzewaltowski said.
He added that different activities demand different amounts of caloric expenditure, like playing a game of soccer, which demands much more energy expenditure than bowling or playing the outfield in baseball.
Dzewaltowski said Wii Fit can be an effective tool to create or maintain a healthy lifestyle for some people because it follows the basic principles for adhering to an exercise program, like having physical activity goals, tracking those goals and evaluating the progress.
Wii Fit measures players' body mass index, or BMI, which is a weight evaluation based on height and weight. Dzewaltowski said this a good screening tool for adults, meaning if the game categorizes them as being overweight or obese, they should seek more information from a health professional who can better evaluate the level of body fat. However, he said the calculation is unsuitable for children.
"For children, the BMI calculation has to be expressed based on age and gender growth charts, and it doesn't do that," Dzewaltowski said. "Due to children's age and gender differences in growth, the adult BMI calculators don't work. My use of the Wii BMI calculator showed that it was inappropriate for children and would categorize children incorrectly."
The game also gives players a Wii Fit Age, which is measured by the player's BMI and their center of gravity and balance testing. However, Dzewaltowski doesn't think the measurement is credible.
For personal goals, he said it is more important to focus on behaviors such as physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption rather than the game's BMI and fitness age measurements.
Dzewaltowski said it could be healthy for gamers to solely rely on Wii Fit for exercise if they are meeting the guidelines for physical activity set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
He said future technologies should continue to promote physical activity if they make exercise enjoyable, especially for adults.
"I also believe that adults enjoy movement if they are at a fitness level where they can perform the activity comfortably," Dzewaltowski said. "The problem is most adults have very poor fitness levels. So, I believe there is a future in developing games that include movement and demand caloric expenditure at the level of the participant."
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Goal-Setting Drills Make for More Active Coworkers
Workplace programs that encourage employees to set exercise goals pay off, finds a new study that looked at physical activity levels of Home Depot employees who participated in the "Move to Improve" program.
The program increased the proportion of employees who regularly participated in either moderate or vigorous physical activity from about 30 percent at the start of the study to about 50 percent during the last six weeks, said lead author Rod Dishman, Ph.D.
The study appears in the February 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Workers set personal and team physical activity goals weekly for three months, receiving incentives for achievement. Throughout the intervention, researchers tracked changes in the 1,442 participants' physical activity levels with pedometers.
By the sixth week of the study, 51 percent of program participants logged at least five 30-minute moderate exercise sessions or two to three 20-minute vigorous exercise sessions weekly, compared with only 25 percent of the control group.
In addition, Move to Improve participants sustained that level of activity through the end of the 12-week study, with few dropouts, said Dishman, a professor of exercise science at the University of Georgia.
"The biggest pleasant surprise was the steady and sustained progress. That can probably be explained by the social incentives and support from personal goals and achievements that had direct impact on team success," Dishman said.
Workplaces offer great opportunities for physical activity and wellness programs because they offer a captive audience, said Katherine Alaimo, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Michigan State University.
In this case, success might be in part because investigators included a combination of things not usually in workplace wellness programs, Alaimo said.
"They had individual goal setting - a common technique - but they also had group and organizational goal setting, which provided the peer encouragement that is necessary and important," Alaimo said.
"Personal and team goals work best when they are self-set, specific about how much activity and when, realistic but attainable and easily assessed, such as by weekly logs or pedometer steps," Dishman said.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Thanksgiving on a Budget: Seven Easy Ways to Save Money and Calories
“Food is an important part of holidays, and this is especially true for Thanksgiving,” said Jennifer Ebelhar McDaniel, a registered dietician and assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University.
“There’s a lot of pressure to serve a big, traditional Thanksgiving meal, but for many people that’s just not financially feasible this year.”
Fortunately, McDaniel says there are seven easy ways to slice your grocery bill without cutting the fun out of the holiday
1. Compose your shopping list one week in advance. This gives you time to search for sales, use coupons, etc. In addition, shopping off a list saves you extra trips to the grocery store (wasted gas) and unnecessary purchases.
2. Don't try to serve it all. You don't need to serve everybody's favorite dish. Choose one protein (usually a turkey), one starch (sweet potato dish), one vegetable and one dessert.
3. Know serving sizes. Make sure the recipes you create are modified for the correct number of people invited.
Read tips 4-7 after the jump!
4. Use frozen vegetables where you can. If you are preparing a recipe like broccoli and cheese casserole, choose frozen vegetables instead of fresh. Frozen vegetables are usually cheaper and offer the same nutrient quality.
5. Buy the whole bird. Usually it is cheaper to purchase the whole turkey rather than buy the pieces separately. Plus, leftover turkey tastes great in a turkey casserole, turkey burritos, turkey and cranberry sandwich, and you can use the bones for soups.
6. Ask for help. Offer to make one or two things and delegate the rest. To add a little fun into your potluck, ask your guests to bring copies of their recipe to share.
7. Skip the paper products. While paper plates and plastic utensils are easier than washing dishes, they are expensive and bad for the environment.
At the risk of sounding like the Grinch who stole Thanksgiving, McDaniel says there are several benefits to cutting back this year, even if it’s not financially necessary. First, in addition to saving money, you’ll also save calories.
“A typical Thanksgiving feast may include as many as 10 options. Even if you take just a little of each, the calories can really add up,” she said. “By limiting the number of dishes offered, your family will be less likely to overeat.”
But perhaps the biggest benefit of simplifying your Thanksgiving meal, McDaniel says, is that it will allow you to focus on your family and all you have to be thankful for.
“The holidays weren’t meant to be stressful. By simplifying your meal, you’ll have more time to relax and enjoy the time with your family,” she said.
Long a leader in educating health professionals, Saint Louis University began its nursing program in 1928 and offered its first degree in an allied health profession in 1929. Today the Doisy College of Health Sciences offers degrees in nursing, physical therapy, clinical laboratory science, nutrition and dietetics, health informatics and information management, medical imaging and radiation therapeutics, occupational science and occupational therapy, and physician assistant education. The college's unique curriculum prepares students to work with health professionals from all disciplines to ensure the best possible patient care.
