In contrast with a recent study finding increased physical activity leading to no improvement in mental health, another study finds that young teens who put in extra exercise will find better school performance. 

A recent study in the UK found that young teens who were physically active around 14 years old did not find "any positive impact on their mental health," said an article on EducationWorld.com.

"Our findings do not eliminate the possibility that [physical activity] positively affects depressed mood in the general population; rather, we suggest that this effect may be small or nonexistent during the period of adolescence,” the authors wrote.

"The study authors found that the amount of exercise children got when they were around 14 years old did not predict whether they would be depressed at age 17," said the article. "Children who were active at early ages did not have an increased or decreased risk for depression a few years later."

A study conducted by the University of Gothenberg "investigated if physical activity boosts learning and improves school performance," said an article on ScienceWorldReport.com. The researchers assigned 408 participants "to two hours of extra play and motion activities per week."

After the study, the researchers noticed "that most of the students from the intervention school achieved the national learning goals in all subjects examined that included Swedish, English and mathematics as compared to the control groups."

"You can express it that two hours of extra physical education each week doubled the odds that a pupil achieves the national learning goals," said scientist and neurologist Thomas Linden at the Sahlgrenska Academy. "We did not see a corresponding improvement in the control schools, where the pupils did not receive extra physical activity - rather the contrary, a deterioration."

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Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor