Transcript Document

The Link between Nutrition,
Physical Activity and
Academic Achievement
Sigrid Quendler
Vienna University, Austria, Europe
for ILSI Center for Health Promotion, Atlanta, 2002
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Background
• Early Greek and Hebrew philosophers adopted a dualistic perspective and
viewed the mind and the body as two distinct entities
• Piaget (1936) was one of the first who suggested that motor development is
important for intellectual development in children
• Kephart (1960) suggested that children who have learning disabilities may
be suffering from perceptual-motor problems
• Kirkendall (1986) suggested, that an individual functions as a whole
within the environment and thus must be treated accordingly
• Jørgens, Perko, Hanel, Schroeder, Secher (1992) confirmed that
moderate-to-high intensities of exercise shows a large increase in cerebral
blood flow which benefits cognitive functioning
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The Link between Nutrition, PA and AA
• Breakfast and Academic Achievement (AA)
• Hunger and Behavioral Problems
• Undernourishment and Health Risks
• Lack of PA and Low Self-Esteem
• Obesity, Health Risks and Low Self-Esteem
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Breakfast and AA
• 10% of students at the elementary level
• 25% in middle school
• 30% of high school students start school without
breakfast
• omitting breakfast interferes with cognition and
learning
Hunger and Behavioral Problems
• 4 million American children experience prolonged periodic
food insufficiency and hunger each year
• Representing 8% of the children under the age of 12
• Virtually all-behavioral, emotional and academic problems
were more prevalent in hungry children
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Undernourishment and Health Risks
• Chronically undernourished children attain lower scores on
standardized achievement tests
• They have difficulty resisting infection and are more likely to
become sick, miss school, and fall behind in class
• They are irritable and have difficulty concentrating
• They have low energy, which can limit their PA
Lack of PA and Low Self-Esteem
• Studies show the positive effects of PA programs on physical
fitness and school performance
• PA is consistently related to higher levels of self-esteem and lower
levels of anxiety and stress
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Obesity, Health Risks and Low Self-Esteem
• The prevalence of overweight among young people ages 6-17 has
more than doubled in the past 20 years (in the United States)
• Over 4.7 million (=11%) of these youths are seriously overweight
• Overweight causes low self-esteem, which may lead to depression
followed by gluttony
• Increases risks of Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and
premature death
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Methods of Literature Search
Search Engines:
Keywords:
• Medline
Nutrition, Dietetics
• Pubmed
Physical Activity,
Education, Sport
• Galileo (EBSCOhost,
ERIC)
Academic Performance,
Achievement, Learning
• Emory University
• Cross-referencing
Children, School
• (Yahoo)
Supplementation, VitaminMineral Supplements
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Resources and Approach
Relevant Literature:
• 12 published research studies about the Link
between Nutrition and AA
• 9 published research studies about the Link
between PA and AA
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Types of Key Studies?
• 12 Longitudinal Studies
• 8 about Nutrition and AA (4 Long-/ 4 Short-Term)
• 4 about PA and AA (3 Long-/ 1 Short-Term)
• 4 Observational Studies
• 1 about Nutrition and AA
• 3 about PA and AA
• 5 Cohort Studies
• 3 about Nutrition and AA
• 2 about PA and AA
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Topics of Studies
Studies
Nutrition
Longitudinal • Brief fasting, Stress and
Cognition
• Breakfast Timing
• Energy Intake
• School Breakfast
Programs (SBP)
Observational • Teachers’ Perception of
SBP
Cohort
• Verbal Fluency
• Evaluation of SBP
• Effect of Vitamin-Mineral
Supplements on Behavior
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PA
• Academic Performance
• Academic Performance
and Fitness and Sport
and Education
• Academic Skills
• Teachers’ Attitude
• Students’ Attitude
• Learning Disabilities
• Effects on Social Skills
• Effects on PA during
Adult Life
Age of Subjects in the Studies
Studies
Ages
No.
Topics
Longitudinal
Students:
3-10
11-15
4
8
• 3 about Nutrition, 1 about PA
• 5 about Nutrition, 3 about PA
2
• 1 about Nutrition, 1 about PA
1
• 1 about PA
1
• 1 about PA
3
1
• 2 about Nutrition, 1 about PA
• 1 about PA
Observational
Cohort
Teachers
Students:
6-12
Learning
Disabilities:
8-10
Students:
3-10
11-12
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Nutrition and AA
Major and General Findings:
Poor nutrition hampers AA:
• Malnutrition affect intelligence and academic performance
• Students with low amount of protein in their diet have the lowest
achievement scores
• Iron deficiency anemia leads to shortened attention span, irritability,
fatigue, and difficulty with concentration
• Six- to eleven-year-old children from food-insufficient families had
significantly lower arithmetic scores
• Even moderate under-nutrition can have lasting effects and
compromise cognitive development and school performance
• Morning fasting has a negative effect on cognitive performance, even
among healthy, well-nourished children
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Proper nutrition enhances academic performance:
Participation in a SBP:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Relieves hunger and improves children’s ability to succeed at school
Increases intake of food energy, calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin C
Improves school performance and reduces absenteeism and tardiness
Improves academic, behavioral, and emotional functioning
Leads to increased math grades
Strengthens children’s psychosocial outcomes, lowering anxiety,
hyperactivity, depression and psychosocial dysfunction
• Raises scores on basic skills tests
• Parents report improved interest in school, greater concentration, and
improved scholastic performance
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The Difference between well-nourished and
malnourished children during SBP:
Well-nourished children:
• who skipped breakfast experience a
negative effect on certain cognitive
tests, problem solving and memory
Mal-nourished children:
• who skipped breakfast experience a
negative effect on certain cognitive
tests, arithmetic and verbal fluency
• demonstrate improved scholastic
performance
• Teachers report improved scholastic
performance
• The positive effects of breakfast on cognition are not universal and require
further studies
• School environment and lifestyle factors can also enhance a child’s capacity to
learn
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PA and AA
The General and Major Findings:
Increased PA leads to higher AA:
• Increased PA leads to increased test scores
• Intense PA programs have positive effects on AA, including increased
concentration, improved mathematics, reading, and writing test scores
and reduced disruptive behavior.
• AA improves even when the physical education reduces the time for
academics
• Aerobic conditioning may help to improve memory
• Exercise may strengthen particular areas of the brain, and oxygen
intake during exercise may enhance greater connections between
neurons
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Improved classroom behavior in schools participating in PA:
• Teachers report improved students attentiveness and concentration
• Teachers report improved academic performance
• Parents report improved interest in school, greater concentration,
and improved scholastic performance
Classroom mood and ambience is enhanced when children
participate in PA:
• Teachers report that students participating in PA are calmer in class
and more energetic to learn
• Several review articles authored by experts in the field underscore the
value of PA and the effect of activity and cognition
• School environment and lifestyle factors can also enhance a child’s
capacity to learn
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Nutrition and AA
Summary of tables of selected nutrition programs:
Who?
CDC (Centers
Where &
when?
What?
USA, June 1996
Guidelines for School
Health Programs to
Promote Lifelong
Healthy Eating
Provides 7 nutrition
education guidelines
for a comprehensive
school health
program
USA, Aug. 2002
Developed a “breakfast
how-to kit”, can help
school foodservices
maximize their
breakfast programs
The theme: “A Good
Breakfast = A Good
Start = Good Student
Performance”
for Disease
Control and
Prevention)
ASFSA
(American School
Food Service
Association)
Other Facts
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Who?
What?
Other Facts
USA, 1966
The SBP, a Federal
entitlement program,
provides cash assistance
for non-profit breakfast
programs
Pilot project in 1966,
made permanent in
1975, present in more
than 72,000 schools
and institutions
Canada
(Ottawa), 1990
School Breakfast
Program, provides
funding for equipment,
program monitors and
food
4500 students are fed
in the 2002, 86
schools are enrolled
in SBP, 855,500
breakfasts served
Service Division)
USA
(California),
1998
SBP, SLP, Special Milk
Program and State Meal
Program, (federally
funded)
Improve the diets of
children to age 13,
develop eating habits
that for later years
USDA (Food and
USA, Dec. 2001
Created a new "Eat
Smart. Play Hard."
Campaign
Message has been
endorsed by ASFSA,
ADA, WIC
FNS (Food and
Where &
when?
Nutrition Service)
OCRI (Ottawa
Carleton Research
Institute)
NSD (Nutrition
Nutrition Service)
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PA and AA
Summary of tables a few selected PA programs:
Who?
Where &
when?
CDC (Centers for USA, 2001
Chronic Disease
and Prevention)
EKF (Educational
Kinesiology
Foundation)
USA, 1990
What?
Other Facts
Kids Walk-toSchool
A community-based
program that aims to
increase opportunities for
daily PA by encouraging
children to walk to and
from school in groups,
accompanied by adults
Brain Gym®, a
program of
physical activities
that enhance
learning ability
Brain Gym® is built upon
80 years of research by
specialists in physical
movement and child
development, EKF licensed
it to help the learner
experience his or her full
potential
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Who?
NASBE
(National
Association of State
Boards of
Education)
CSHP (Auburn
Where&when?
Other Facts
USA (West
Virginia), 1992
Safe and Healthy
School Projects,
Healthy Schools
Network
In partnership with the
National School Boards
Association (NSBA), the
Healthy Schools
Network meets once a
year to discuss youth
and school health issues
USA, 1998
“Healthy
Androscoggin” is a
School Health
Program, designed to
connect health with
education
Components:
Comprehensive School
Health Education,
Physical Education &
Activity and Health
Promotion & Wellness
Canada, 2000
“Canada’s Physical
Activity Guide” for
children and youth
Should help young
people make wise
choices about PA,
improve their health and
help prevent diseases
School
Department's
Coordinated
School Health
Program)
CSEP (Health
Canada and
Canada Society for
Exercise
Physiology)
What?
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Conclusions:
Nutrition and PA:
• Improve school performance
• Classroom behavior
• Reduce absenteeism and tardiness
• Strengthen children’s psychosocial outcomes
• Lowers anxiety, hyperactivity, depression, and
psychosocial dysfunction
Teachers and parents report that students participating in SBP and
PA are:
• Calmer in class
• More energetic and focused when studying
A positive relationship persists between nutrition and AA or/and PA
and AA!!
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Future Research
• Effects of micronutrient on development of children’s intelligence
• Effects of nutrient/micronutrient deficiency on children’s intelligence
• Effects of nutrient deficiency on children’s intention to be physically
active
• The intimate mechanisms whereby physical exercise can influence
academic performance
• Effects of PA on AA of well-trained and untrained children
• PA in toddlers and the effects on later AA
• Differences between (micro)nutrients from supplements vs. food
sources in human metabolism
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I want to return thanks to Debbie Kibbe who took the time to show me the everyday life in a
Public Health Organization,
David Dennison who proof-read this project,
Asha Mulchan-Onofri and Kim Fontenot who helped me with the numerous problems I had
with the computer,
and everyone else on the ILSI staff who helped to make my internship as fantastic as it was in
the end!
Thank You all very much!!
Thank You for Your
Attention!!!
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