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Physical activity boosts boys' reading skills

Child Development Health
Walking or cycling to and from school improves boys' reading skills in early primary, new research suggests.

A study carried out by academics in Finland has found a link between high levels of physical activity and academic achievement in the first few years of primary school.

However, in girls there were fewer associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviour and how well they did academically.

Nevertheless, the researchers found that all children benefited from being more physically active during break-time and walking or cycling to and from school, which was linked to better reading skills.

They also found that children who took part in organised sports did better at maths.

Boys who played computer and video games more than their peers were also found to have higher maths scores.

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