Common sense tells us that a child's nutritional status will affect his or her academic performance, but research proves that this is the case too.
A study published in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of School Health* concluded that children who consumer healthier foods are less likely to fail tests for literacy.
A research team led by Dr. Paul Veugelers of the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta gathered information on dietary intake, height and weight of 5000 students in the 5th grade. The Diet Quality Index Alternative (DQI-I) was calculated for each student, which represents the intake of foods and nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables, fiber, protein, calcium and vitamins, as well as intake of saturated fat and less healthy foods.
The students then were assessed using the Elementary Literacy Test, which includes reading a variety of materials and answering written questions based on those materials.
The researchers discovered that students with increased fruit and vegetable intake and lower intake of fat were less likely to fail the literacy test. Compared to students in the lowest tier on the DQI-I, those in the second and third tiers were 26% and 41% less likely to fail.
The findings of this study are just one more reason to improve children's diets both at home, and at school. Not only will improved diet provide a healthier future for our children physically, but it will also provide a better future academically.
*Veugelers, et al, "Diet quality and academic performance," Journal of School Health April 2008 vol 78 no 4.
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