Abstract
School-based initiatives to combat childhood obesity may use academic performance
to measure success. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between
academic achievement and body mass index percentile, socioeconomic status (SES), and
race by linking existing datasets that are not routinely linked. Data from a school-based
project (with National Institutes of Health funding) concerning dietary recall accuracy
were linked with data from the state's Department of Education through the state's
Office of Research and Statistics. Data were available on 1,504 fourth-grade, predominantly
African-American children from 18 schools total in one district in South Carolina
during the 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007 school years. School staff administered
standardized tests in English, math, social studies, and science. Researchers measured
children's weight and height. Children were categorized as low-SES, medium-SES, or
high-SES based on eligibility for free, reduced-price, or full-price school meals,
respectively. Results from marginal regression analyses for each sex for the four
academic subjects, separately and combined, showed that test scores were not related
to body mass index percentile, but were positively related to SES (P values <0.0001), and were related to race, with lower scores for African-American
children than children of other races (P values <0.0039). Cost-efficient opportunities exist to create longitudinal data sets
to investigate relationships between academic performance and obesity across kindergarten
through 12th-grade children. State agencies can house body mass index data in state-based
central repositories where staff can use globally unique identifiers and link data
across agencies. Results from such studies could potentially change the way school
administrators view nutrition and physical education.
Keywords
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Biography
S. D. Baxter is a research professor, Institute for Families in Society, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Biography
C. H. Guinn is a research dietitian, Institute for Families in Society, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Biography
J. M. Tebbs is a professor, Department of Statistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Biography
J. A. Royer is a data programmer/analyst, Institute for Families in Society, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, and South Carolina Budget and Control Board, Office of Research and Statistics, Columbia.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 20, 2013
Accepted:
January 2,
2013
Footnotes
FUNDING/SUPPORT This work was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health with grants R01HL074358 and R21HL088617 to S. D. Baxter. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the South Carolina Budget and Control Board Office of Research and Statistics, or the South Carolina Department of Education.
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST S. D. Baxter's current and previous research has been funded externally by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Agriculture. Baxter has served as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and she is on the Board of Editors for the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. J. M. Tebbs' current and previous research has been funded externally by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health, and he has served as a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation. No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the other authors.
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© 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
