Good grades = good health

That is, according to a new paper by sociologist Patricia Herd of the University of Wisconsin, based on data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, and published in the current Journal of Health and Social Behavior. According to the data retrieved from that study, which followed 10,000 Wisconsin high schoolers of the class of 1953 throughout the decades,

Herd's findings showed 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.

Okay, I would not doubt that there is a correlation between grades and health - but I do doubt that there is causation. In other words: Good grades do have some relevance when later income and wealth is concerned, and the nexus between income and overall health has also been plausibly established. So it might not be the good grades, but the advantageous economic situation that is the determining factor in good health. And even the relationship between grades and income might be as simple as good work in school leading to better-paying jobs - after all, family wealth can buy tutoring, save the student from the need to work for his upkeep (certainly not unusual in the 1950's), and allow him to focus on his studies; more affluent neighborhoods also generally enjoy better-equipped schools and better-paid teachers - both certainly important factors in academic success.

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