Is good dietary diversity a predictor of academic success?

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Interest in identifying factors influencing educational success is growing. Many studies have examined factors that may affect academic performance. It is often observed that a group of students sharing the same external variables (school environment) yet have different results, which states that individual variables have more impact on the determination of academic performance. Therefore, the present study aims to substantiate this controversy by investigating the association between dietary habits and academic performance in a population of adolescents attending school in Eastern Morocco. METHODS: Cross-sectional study based on a self-administered questionnaire. Items included sociodemographic variables, eating and sleeping habits, physical activity practice and the last semester’s grade point average of Mathematics (GPAm) and first foreign language (GPAf) subjects. RESULTS: Dietary diversity score (DDS) is a significant predictor of academic performance. Weight status and sleep duration was found to be strongly associated with academic achievement. Absenteeism and smoking are negatively associated with school achievement. CONCLUSIONS: The results reveal associations between dietary diversity and the academic performance of students in Eastern Morocco, which supports the creation of effective nutrition education policies to overcome the double burden of malnutrition by promoting healthy diets and encouraging physical activity. The results of these actions are likely to be healthier schools and improved behavioral development and academic performance of children (www.actabiomedica.it)