A new research has shown that good grades at school make students healthier adults.
A new research has shown that good grades at school make students healthier adults.
Studies have long shown that education is linked to better health. To look if higher academic performance in high school plays a critical role in better health throughout life, researchers surveyed more than 10,000 Americans graduates of Wisconsin's high school class of 1957 during the last 53 years.
Asking people to assess their health is predictive of mortality as studies have found individuals are better at predicting their own mortality risk than their doctors would be. The researchers met the class members six times since they graduated, beginning in 1957, asking questions about work, life, family, personality and psychological characteristics and late-life health among high school graduates. In the 1970s, when they were in their 30s and 40s, the questions emphasized family, work and social lives. By the early 1990s, researchers inquired about psychological well-being and health. The latest study reports on academic performance and health looking at links between educational attainment and high school academic performance.
It was found that that the higher a study participant's high school rank was, the lower the probability that participant experienced worsening health between 1992 and 2003, when the class members neared retirement age. The higher a person's class rank, the more likely they were to report "excellent" or "very good" health when they were in their early 60s. They were also more likely to report fewer chronic conditions.
The researchers attributed the above findings to conscientiousness - those who are more conscientious might both do better in school and also take better care of their health. Another possibility considered is that perhaps the skills required to excel in school like critical thinking, for example, may help good-graders make wise decisions about their health care. It's not the first time that education has been associated with physical well-being but this study shows that it's not only more schooling but performance that makes a difference.
Studies have long shown that education is linked to better health. To look if higher academic performance in high school plays a critical role in better health throughout life, researchers surveyed more than 10,000 Americans graduates of Wisconsin's high school class of 1957 during the last 53 years.
Asking people to assess their health is predictive of mortality as studies have found individuals are better at predicting their own mortality risk than their doctors would be. The researchers met the class members six times since they graduated, beginning in 1957, asking questions about work, life, family, personality and psychological characteristics and late-life health among high school graduates. In the 1970s, when they were in their 30s and 40s, the questions emphasized family, work and social lives. By the early 1990s, researchers inquired about psychological well-being and health. The latest study reports on academic performance and health looking at links between educational attainment and high school academic performance.
It was found that that the higher a study participant's high school rank was, the lower the probability that participant experienced worsening health between 1992 and 2003, when the class members neared retirement age. The higher a person's class rank, the more likely they were to report "excellent" or "very good" health when they were in their early 60s. They were also more likely to report fewer chronic conditions.
The researchers attributed the above findings to conscientiousness - those who are more conscientious might both do better in school and also take better care of their health. Another possibility considered is that perhaps the skills required to excel in school like critical thinking, for example, may help good-graders make wise decisions about their health care. It's not the first time that education has been associated with physical well-being but this study shows that it's not only more schooling but performance that makes a difference.
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