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Good Grades in High School May Mean Good Health Later

Study finds correlation over six-decade study

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 10, 2010 4:01 PM CST

(Newser) – Being a top student in high school has obvious benefits, mainly with regard to getting into a good college. But being a top high school performer might have more lasting effects: it leads to better health all throughout life, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin tracked more than 10,000 high school graduates through six rounds of interviews, one every decade, Time reports.

The higher students ranked in their class, the more likely they were to report excellent health in their early 60s. "If you look at two people with high school degrees, the person with better grades is healthier later in life," says one of the researchers. The scientists don't know exactly what causes the link, but speculate that the same conscientiousness that leads kids to get good grades leads adults to take care of themselves.

Straight A's in high school often mean a healthier life.
Straight A's in high school often mean a healthier life.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 9 comments
fuguestate
Dec 11, 2010 1:52 PM CST
.Does grade inflation mean you get to live forever?
fractal
Dec 11, 2010 4:35 AM CST
By the time kids enter school, their ability to delay gratification has been determined. Psychologists are finding that this simple ability has correlation with all sorts of other personality traits (like needing high degrees of stimulation, and risk taking). Good health and success in educational/career endeavors are also correlated with the ability to delay gratification. While it is easy to laugh and say that this is armchair psychology, and has nothing to do with reality, in actuality, they are beginning to hone in on critical skills that make for a more competent adult. As this knowledge progresses, I am looking forward to the day we can confidently teach children life skills that give them confidence, focus, and optimism.
red_ox
Dec 10, 2010 8:05 PM CST
I HATE correlation studies nothing but ammo for armchair psychologists.

 
high school • college • grades • bad grades

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