Читать книгу Keeping the Whole Child Healthy and Safe - Marge Scherer - Страница 12

Schools can be a powerful catalyst for change when it comes to preventing and reducing overweight and obesity. The school setting is a great equalizer, providing all students and families—regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or level of education—with the same access to good nutrition and physical activity. Because children also teach their parents, important lessons learned at school can help the entire family.

In 2004, the nonprofit organization Action for Healthy Kids released a special report identifying the link among the factors of poor nutrition, inactivity, and academic achievement (2004). It is a wake-up call to schools: Improving children's health likely improves school performance.

The relationship is based on substantial research. Well-nourished students tend to be better students, whereas poorly nourished students tend to demonstrate weaker academic performance and score lower on standardized achievement tests. The majority of U.S. children are not eating a balanced, nutrient-rich diet. Inadequate consumption of key food groups deprives children of essential vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins necessary for optimum cognitive function (Tufts University School of Nutrition, 1995). Children who suffer from poor nutrition during the brain's most formative years score much lower on tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic, and general knowledge (Brown & Pollitt, 1996). In a 1989 study, 4th graders with the lowest amount of protein in their diets showed the lowest achievement test scores (School Nutrition Association). A 2001 study revealed that 6- to 11-year-old children from food-insufficient families had significantly lower arithmetic scores and were more likely to repeat a grade (Alaimo, Olson, & Frongillo). Even skipping breakfast has been shown to adversely affect student achievement on problem-solving tests (Pollitt, Leibel, & Greenfield, 1991).

That nutrition affects academic achievement comes as no revelation. After all, as children we were told to eat our breakfast before leaving for school. What may come as a surprise, however, is that physical activity also plays an important role in students' performance—even when it uses time that is normally set aside for academics.

Students who participate in daily physical education exhibit better attendance, a more positive attitude toward school, and superior academic performance (National Association for Sport and Physical Education & Council of Physical Education for Children, 2001). Two studies demonstrated that providing more time for physical activity— by reducing class time—can lead to increased test scores, particularly in the area of mathematics (Shephard, 1997; Shephard et al., 1984). Another study linked physical activity programs to stronger academic achievement; increased concentration; and improved math, reading, and writing test scores (Symons, Cinelli, James, & Groff, 1997). The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports states that

Evidence suggests that time spent in physical education does not decrease learning in other subjects. Youth who spend less time in other subjects to allow for regular physical education have been shown to do equally well or better in academic classes. (1999)

The California Department of Education analyzed results of student physical fitness testing in 2001 and compared them with the same students' scores on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9). The analysis showed that higher academic achievement correlated strongly with higher levels of fitness at each of the three grade levels measured (grades 5, 7, and 9). The relationship was greatest in mathematics: Girls in the higher fitness levels demonstrated higher achievement than males at similar fitness levels (2004).