The impact of nutrition on mental development begins at birth, and students' diet directly influences their standardized school test scores. Children who were breastfed for more than six months as infants scored higher on standardized tests assessing spelling, reading and math at age 10 compared with their counterparts with shorter breastfeeding sessions, according to studies done in Perth, Australia. Healthy diets help students focus longer, assist in brain development, and help instill an anxiety-free attitude to enhance learning.
Iron Deficiencies and Learning
Poor nutrition and diets that leave students mal- or undernourished contribute to iron deficiencies, a common nutritional problem, according to the Vermont Department of Health. Iron deficiencies contribute to fatigue, failure to focus, lack of attention and the inability to complete prolonged work assignments. The Iron Disorders Institutes reports the daily upper intake level for iron is 45 mg each day, with even minor shortages creating problems for young students. The IDI notes that iron deficiency anemia results in "poor memory or poor cognitive skills (mental function) resulting in poor performance in school." Prolonged anemia results in lower IQs for young students, according to the IDI.
School Breakfast and Lunch Programs
The Vermont Department of Health correlates student participation in school lunch programs with improvements in test scores, participation during class, attendance and tardiness. The department also reviewed approximately 200 studies linking physical activity, nutritious meals and school achievements, concluding that a healthy diet impacts student achievement both directly and indirectly. Lost days of instruction reduce test scores, but healthy students miss fewer school days. Nutritionist Julie Allington of the Wisconsin Department of Public Health notes that skipping breakfast interferes with learning and cognition. Supplying nutritious breakfasts to more than 1,000 elementary-school students resulted in test score gains in vocabulary, mathematics and reading.
Fast Food and Scores
Researchers at Tennessee's Vanderbilt University found a link in 2009 between poor nutrition and literacy tests for 5,000 elementary-level students aged 10 to 11. The study targeted consumption of fast-food meals for more than three meals per week as the trigger for lower scores. Head researcher Kerri Tobin targeted fast food as a direct link to lower test scores, in some cases citing a 16 percent discrepancy between the fast-food eaters and the student control group. Correlations included an approximately 7 percent decline in reading scores for children dining on fast food four to six times each week. Daily junk-food diners had scores more than 16 percent lower than the scoring averages. The World Research Foundation concludes that a healthy dining plan without fast food impacts a child's "concentration, attention span, learning ability, brain function and even behavior."
Healthy Snacks and Student Achievement
Healthy snacks during breaks in the school day contribute to increased classroom learning. The Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project tracked hunger in the educational environment in 2001 and linked anxiety, aggression, academic problems and behavioral issued directly to hunger in school-age children. Healthy snacks, including iron-enriched milk, vegetables and fruit relieve feelings of hunger and also improve nutrition. Reducing the incidents of anxiety and behavioral problems increase opportunities for classroom learning.
References
- UPI.com: Fast Food Linked to Poor Test Scores; May, 2009
- World Research Foundation: Junk Food Link to Academic Results
- NCDHHS: Soft Drinks and School-Age Children - Trends, Effects, Solutions
- Vermont Department of Health; School Health and Wellness; April, 2007
- Iron Disorders Institute: Recommended Daily Allowance
- Iron Disorders Institute: What Is Iron?
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