Reasoning skills in children can be promoted by healthy diet, reading, and sports

Reasoning skills are crucial skills in learning, academic performance, and everyday problem-solving. According to a recent study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland, improved overall diet quality and reduced consumption of red meat, as well as increased time spent in reading and organized sports enhanced reasoning skills among children over the first two school years.

Children who spent more time in reading and organized sports showed better reasoning skills than their peers. On the other hand, excessive time spent on a computer and unsupervised leisure-time physical activity were associated with poorer reasoning skills. Screen time, active school transportation, recess physical activity, and physical activity intensity were not associated with reasoning skills.

Over half of the children participated in a two-year family-based and individualized diet and physical activity intervention. However, the intervention did not impact reasoning skills, with the children in the intervention and control groups exhibiting similar cognitive development.

The results of this study are based on data from the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) study. This sub-study examined the effects of a two-year diet and physical activity intervention on cognition among 397 Finnish elementary school children.

Reference: Effects of 2-year dietary and physical activity intervention on cognition in children—a nonrandomized controlled trial, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, DOI 10.1111/sms.14464