By Hugh C. McBride

For any parent who has ever pleaded with a child to get up off the couch, get outside and get some fresh air, or get a job, the first two months of 2009 brought good news from the research front.

At the end of January, a study in the Journal of School Health found that physically fit children performed better on standardized academic achievement tests than did students of the same age and background with lower levels of fitness.

The following week, researchers with Wake Forest University and the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) announced that they had found a link between hard work and the development of self-discipline and personal responsibility among young people.

In addition to supporting the entreaties of countless moms and dads across the countries, the two studies also indicated that the efforts of some of the nation’s premier therapeutic boarding schools are on the right track when it comes to helping struggling teens gain control over their lives and pursue more positive and successful futures.

Physical Fitness & Academic Performance

According to a Jan. 28 article on the Medical News Todaywebsite, the Journal of School Health study evaluated data collected on more than 1,000 Massachusetts public school students in grades four through eight during the 2004-2005 academic year:

A passing score on the MCAS test (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test) counted as academic achievement, and physical fitness was assessed as the number of physical fitness tests passed during physical education (PE). …

The results showed there was a significant link between academic achievement and physical fitness, in that the odds of passing both the standardized Math and English tests went up in line with the number of PE fitness tests passed. This was even after taking into account potential influencers such as race/ethnicity, gender, grade and socioeconomic status.

The authors concluded that “Results show statistically significant relationships between fitness and academic achievement.”

The Massachusetts study, which was conducted under the leadership of Dr. Virginia R. Chomitz of Harvard Medical School and Tufts University, is not the first research effort to reach the conclusion that physical fitness can positively influence academic performance.

In a paper titled “Does Physical Activity Influence Academic Performance?” authors Leslee J. Scheuer and Dr. Debby Mitchell of the University of Central Florida referred to four other papers that supported the conclusion that “youth receiving additional physical activity tend to show improved attributes such as increased brain function and nourishment, higher energy/concentration levels, changes in body build affecting self esteem, increased self-esteem and better behavior, which may all support cognitive learning.”

Also, in the Feb. 2005 edition of the Journal of Physiology Online, researcher James B. Grissom reported finding “a consistent positive relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement.”

A Little Hard Work Never Hurt Anybody

A Feb. 6 article on the ScienceDaily website reported that a research team that was led by Dustin Wood, assistant professor of psychology at Wake Forest University, had established a connection between difficult tasks – which the article described as “those that ask young people to make sacrifices and do difficult things for the good of the group” – and the development of responsibility and discipline:

• The researchers surveyed more than 100 high schoolers who took part in 11 different summer and after-school programs.
• Many teens spontaneously reported that developing responsibility was a goal of their participation in the program.
• The participating teens said they achieved this goal by having important official roles, investing time, and being committed to the adults and other youths in the program.

“Although the teenagers we interviewed generally enjoyed their program experiences overall, it is the programs in which young people are called to perform tasks that are boring, difficult, or obligatory that are most likely to help them develop characteristics like responsibility and self-discipline,” Wood said in a release that announced the publication of the study.

Promoting Fitness & Hard Work

Though the findings of the Wake Forest and Massachusetts studies made headlines in science journals and on a variety of websites, the results probably weren’t all that surprising to the treatment professionals who are working at some of the nation’s most respected and effective therapeutic boarding schools for troubled teens and struggling adolescents.

For example, the beneficial aspects of challenging physical experiences are essential components of the therapeutic programs at wilderness therapy programs such as Phoenix Outdoor in Leicester, N.C.; Outback Therapeutic Expeditions in Lehi, Utah; and Passages to Recovery in Loa, Utah.

At TurnAbout Ranch in Escalante, Utah, teens develop essential life skills such as self-reliance, cooperation, and responsibility while attending classes and working on a historic working cattle ranch.

Physical fitness and personal development are also central to the programs at the summer camps, adventure camps, and residential therapeutic academies that are part of the Wellspring healthy living program.

By combining intensive therapeutic support, highly structured academic guidance, and the positive aspects of hard work and physical fitness, these and other therapeutic programs for troubled teens have helped thousands of students become healthy, contributing members of their families, schools, and communities.