Exercise improves children's exam results and concentration

The study, which was published in the Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology journal, was carried out on over 1,000 primary school pupils in Aberdeen.

University of Leeds Professor Mark Mon-Williams said: "Lots of research in elderly participants has shown that exercise helps the brain to function. This study is the first to show that exercise has similar benefits in children."

The children carried out aerobic exercises lasting 10 to 15 minutes every day for two weeks. Their concentration and performance was then tested with a series of mental tests throughout the fortnight and the results were compared with children who had not been involved in the exercise programme.

The research found that those children taking part in regular exercise did significantly better in the mental tests, than those who did not.

University of Aberdeen senior lecturer in child and adolescent psychiatry Dr Justin Williams said: "While further research is required, this could change the way we think about exercise in schools. As well as being important in tackling obesity and promoting a healthy lifestyle, exercise can help with learning."

"It also raises the question of how much the often-reported decline in children's attention span in modern day life stems from a lack of physical exercise," he added.