Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: A, California State University, East Bay (-), course: Research Methods and Communication, language: English, abstract: Throughout my life I heard the famous phrase "healthy body, healthy mind." Atleast in Germany this phrase is quite common. But is there really a relationship, or dopeople just say it? In this context some might argue that being physical active does notcontribute to the overall health at all. It is more what we eat that matters. They are right tosome extent. However, according to Chryss Cada, staying in shape is always a balancebetween exercise and nutrition (Cada, 2003). Both physical activity and a good dietcontribute to a healthy body and, according to the famous phrase, to a healthy mind. Tofind out if a healthy body really helps a student perform better academically I examinedwhat impact physical activity has on the academic success of students. I believe that thereis a positive relationship between physical activity and academic success. The literature is full of opinions that support my assumption. For example,Douglas H. Heath, a professor emeritus of the Psychology Department of HaverfordCollege, states that success in general is caused by many factors such as how manyhobbies, interests, and jobs a student has, or who is active in extracurricular activities(Becker, 1992). A more relevant statement to this topic comes from Jim MacKinnon, theathletic director at Starpoint, who points out that "Kids who go through the athleticprogram learn discipline, and that carries over into their studies. It carries over not onlyinto academics; it carries over into your life." (Dicesare, 2002) Sheila Boles, HoggardsHigh School athletics director, even says: "I don't think there's anything that can teachyou more about life than athletics success and failure and how to handle them bothgraciously." (Grady, 2002) Many other authors share this opinion. They contribute thatathletes have higher GPA’s (Hickman, 2002), or are more likely to find themselves insupervisory roles in the later working environment than their non-athletic peers(Schouten, 2002). Sport programs even help students develop self-confidence, timemanagement skills and interpersonal communication (Molbeck, 2003). Furthermore,physical activity may strengthen competitive drive in non-athletic areas, boost selfconfidence, and reinforce the discipline necessary for academic success (Robst, 2000). [...]