by Art Young

Created on: February 20, 2009

Increasingly, parents are asking if it is more important for their kids to be healthy or intelligent. Very few would argue that in a global economy, when their children are competing with counterparts in China and India, academic achievement is more critical than ever.

At the same time, health experts such as the CDC estimate that 32 percent of all U.S. children are overweight or obese. This obesity is brought on by a poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle, both of which can be corrected by physical education and regular exercise.

School administrators are stuck in the middle. Do they allocate more hours for academic studies and thereby reduce the time for exercise, in hopes of making kids competitive for a global marketplace? Or, do they make more time in the school day for physical education and exercise, in hopes of stemming the chronic diseases associated with childhood obesity.

Fortunately, there is an answer to this dilemma. New research suggests that physical fitness enhances academic achievement.

In his recent book, "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," Dr. John Ratey brilliantly presents real-world examples of how cognitive development is enhanced by physical activity. The well-known psychiatrist and author analyzed the effects of regular exercise on academic achievement in such schools as the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois.

In this school district, some members of the freshmen class choose to participate in what they called "Zero Hour." This was an intense aerobic workout every day, one hour before classes began. This program was designed to assess whether working out before school gave the group a boost in reading ability and in their other classes.

Getting a group of 14-year olds out of bed an hour before they absolutely have to be up is a monumental feat in an of itself. However, the academic results were equally stunning. Independent researchers found that the "Zero Hour" group had a 17 percent improvement in reading and comprehension, compared to 10.7 percent improvement for the students who slept in and had PE later in the day.

Dr. Ratey noted that his theory about exercise enhancing school performance "is supported by emerging research showing physical activity sparks (hence, the title of the book) biological changes that encourage brain cells to bind to one another. For the brain to learn, these connections must be made. They reflect the fundamental ability to adapt to challenges."

He continued, "The more neuroscientists

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