Health and Grades
Posted by drpezz on November 2, 2009
A report taken from the Healthy Youth Survey found a direct link between healthy living and good grades.
Well, duh!
The students in my classes with the healthiest lifestyles also typically have the highest socioeconomic status, the most involved parents, the most stable homes, and the fewest problems with addictive substances.
Factors included in the report are:
- smoking,
- eating enough fruits and vegetables,
- taking drugs,
- drinking,
- soda pop consumption,
- depression,
- hours watching TV, and
- getting enough sleep and exercise.
Louise Wilson said
Reminds me of the breakfast project – students who eat breakfast do better in school. Notice, supplying breakfast in school has not improved things. Why? the kids who get breakfast at home have a mom or dad who gets up and makes them breakfast – the poorer kids have a mom who goes to work: some of them got their siblings ready for school. Some have parents with other problems. No time for breakfast.
A sociologist friend pointed out that, even worse, those homes used to at least have cereal in the cupboard for weekends: now, kids often go hungry on the weekend, because the kids get breakfast at school all week, so the parents don’t worry about it.
Oh, and those kids have to get up even earlier to get to svhool early to get breakfast. So less sleep.
Unintended consequences…