Fitness Linked to Smartness

    Any school kid can tell you: nerds are not usually the most athletic specimens. But a new study suggests that young men who are physically fit tend to be more intelligent. The results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    Animal studies have long shown a link between physical activity and better memory. And in humans, aerobic exercise has been found to boost cognitive function in the elderly. But studies in young adults have yielded conflicting results. Strenuous physical activity in adolescents actually seemed to make mind matters worse.

    To try to settle the issue, scientists in Sweden reviewed the records of more than a million men who enlisted for military service at the age of 18. And they found that cardiovascular fitness, but not muscle strength, was associated with overall intelligence （at least as measured by the Swedish army）. And when they consulted additional national databases, they found that physical fitness at the age of 18 also foreshadowed greater academic achievement later in life. Even among the twin pairs, the fitter brother tended to be the smarter.

    So remember, a nerd may not be athletic. But a lot of athletes may be harboring an inner nerd.

    聰明與否與健康有關(guān)

    任何一個(gè)學(xué)校的孩子可以告訴你：書(shū)呆子通常都不善于運(yùn)動(dòng)。但是一項(xiàng)新的研究表明，年輕人身體越健康越聰明。這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在《美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)院院刊》（Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences）雜志上。

    長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)的動(dòng)物研究表明，良好的記憶力和身體運(yùn)動(dòng)有關(guān)。而對(duì)于人類來(lái)說(shuō)，研究發(fā)現(xiàn)有氧鍛煉能增強(qiáng)老年人的認(rèn)知能力。不過(guò)對(duì)年輕人的研究結(jié)果并不一致。青少年大運(yùn)動(dòng)量的活動(dòng)實(shí)際上對(duì)智力發(fā)展不利。

    為了解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題，瑞典科學(xué)家研究了1百多萬(wàn)人的記錄，這些人在18歲的時(shí)候被征兆入伍。科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)，心血管的健康（而不是強(qiáng)壯的肌肉）與整體智力水平有關(guān)系（至少對(duì)瑞典軍隊(duì)里的人如此）.科學(xué)家們還查閱了其它的國(guó)家數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)18歲時(shí)良好的健康狀況還預(yù)示著以后學(xué)術(shù)上更好的成就。即使對(duì)雙胞胎而言，研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，身體越健康，智力越高。

    所以，請(qǐng)記住，書(shū)呆子雖然不一定很健壯，但是許多運(yùn)動(dòng)員也許非常聰明。

    Vocabulary:

    Cardiovascular: 心血管的

    Fitness:健康

    Academic:學(xué)術(shù)的

    Nerd:書(shū)呆子

    Athletic:運(yùn)動(dòng)員的；強(qiáng)健的

    Specimen:樣品；某種類型的人

    Intelligent:聰明的

    Aerobic:需氧的

    Boost:增高；提升

    Cognitive:認(rèn)知的

    Yield:產(chǎn)生

    Conflict:矛盾

    Strenuous:費(fèi)力的

    Adolescent:青春期的

    Enlist:征兆入伍

    Foreshadow:預(yù)示

    Harbor:心懷；懷有

    Inner:內(nèi)在的