Countries that fail to keep teenagers fit may be damaging their academic prospects, according to new findings.
Whilst the popular perception of academic high achievers is that they are not "sporty", a new study suggests that most students benefit from fitness.
A study involving some 1.2 million men found that fitness, not individual strength, was linked to results of IQ tests, especially for logical thinking and verbal understanding.
The researchers said those who gained fitness between the ages of 15 and 18 also improved their IQ results. They were also more likely than others to go into higher education and secure well-qualified jobs.
The findings come from an analysis of Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976 and undertaking military service.
They were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researcher Professor Michael Nilsson, of the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden, said: "Being fit means that you also have good heart and lung capacity and that your brain gets plenty of oxygen.
"This may be one of the reasons why we can see a clear link with fitness, but not with muscular strength. We are also seeing that there are growth factors that are important."
A fellow researcher Dr Maria Åberg said: "We have also shown that those youngsters who improve their physical fitness between the ages of 15 and 18 increase their cognitive performance.
"This being the case, physical education is a subject that has an important place in schools, and is an absolute must if we want to do well in maths and other theoretical subjects."
Cardiovascular fitness is associated with cognition in young adulthood: Maria A. I. Åberg, Nancy L. Pedersen, Kjell Torén, Magnus Svartengren, Björn Bäckstrand, Tommy Johnsson, Christiana M. Cooper-Kuhn, N. David Åberga, Michael Nilssona, and H. Georg Kuhn. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 09-05307:
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