However, research on the association between dietary patterns and school performance is still developing and has certain limitations ( 9). Given the above, a deeper understanding of whether eating habits are related to school performance could be crucial for parents/legal guardians, public health researchers, and policy-makers ( 10). Likewise, a systematic review showed moderate relationships of school performance with better overall diet quality, as well as with healthier eating habits, such as regular breakfast consumption and lower consumption of energy-dense foods and foods with poor nutritional value ( 9). In this regard, a previous longitudinal study conducted over a 3-year period showed that lifestyle habits (e.g., eating breakfast) were related to cognitive control and school performance in adolescents ( 8). In addition, nutrition is one of the most modifiable aspects of lifestyle that can influence brain maturation and, consequently, cognition and school performance ( 7). This brain maturation is accompanied by the emergence of increasingly sophisticated cognitive abilities, which, in turn, are bidirectionally associated with school performance ( 6). Similarly, during adolescence, peer, and media influences exert a considerably greater impact on food choices, frequently in favor of foods with less healthy nutritional content ( 2).įurthermore, adolescence is a crucial phase for brain maturation, as myelination, synaptic pruning and several neural connections develop, particularly in the prefrontal cortex ( 4, 5). However, because of the transition to greater independence from their parents regarding food choices, adolescents are more vulnerable in terms of nutrition than younger children ( 3). The biological and psychosocial changes that occur at this stage of life produce one of the greatest needs for nutrients throughout the life cycle ( 2). Considering that school performance is an indicator of healthy development in adolescence, our findings reinforce and extend the evidence on the importance of healthy eating at this stage of life.Īdolescence is characterized by rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth, which affects how they deal with their own feelings, thoughts, decision-making processes, and interactions with the world around them ( 1). In addition, having breakfast regularly on weekends and the frequency of family dinner were associated with better school performance in both males and females.Ĭonclusions: In summary, this study provide cross-sectional evidence on the association between healthy eating habits and perceived school performance. Specifically, both males and females reporting a higher frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption, a lower frequency of sweets and soft drink consumption, more frequent breakfast consumption, and more frequent family meals (breakfast and dinner) were more likely to perceive their school performance as higher compared to their classmates. In the results of the fully adjusted analyses, the higher the frequency of all healthy eating habits studied, the higher the perceived school performance in both males and females. Results: Among the 46,455 (53.5% female, mean age of 13.7 ± 1.6 years) adolescents studied, 20.6% of males and 25.5% of females reported high perceived school performance. Logistic regression models were adjusted for region, age, body mass index (z-score), socioeconomic status, physical activity, recreational screen time, and sleep difficulties. The adolescents subjectively rated their school performance compared to that of their classmates. Participants answered questions about their weekly frequency of fruit, vegetable, sweets, and soft drink consumption, as well as the frequency of breakfast consumption and family meals. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with data from a large representative sample of adolescents from 42 different countries. Purpose: This study analyzed the association between selected self-reported eating habits and perceived school performance in adolescents by gender. 3Rehabilitation in Health Research Center (CIRES), Universidad de las Américas, Santiago, Chile.2Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Brazil.1Health and Social Research Center, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca, Spain. José Francisco López-Gil 1, Arthur Eumann Mesas 1,2 *, Celia Álvarez-Bueno 1, Carlos Pascual-Morena 1, Alicia Saz-Lara 1 and Iván Cavero-Redondo 1,3
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