The effects of diet quality, eating behavior, and sleep on the academic performance among elementary school students

ABSTRACT

The academic success of children contributes to their income, social status, and public health. This study was conducted with 217 elementary school students from western China. Scores on the Chinese Children Dietary Index (CCDI), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), adjusted DASH, and KIDMED index were calculated to evaluate diet quality. Eating behavior and sleep quality were assessed using the Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CHSQ), respectively. Academic achievement was measured using school-provided average grades. Higher CCDI scores, longer sleep time, lower total CHSQ scores, and lower subscores on “satiety responsiveness,” “slowness in eating,” “emotional undereating,” and “food fussiness” dimensions of the CEBQ were associated with high academic achievement. In conclusion, good diet quality, sleep quality, healthy eating behaviors, and adequate sleep duration were associated with better academic performance. Interventions are recommended to be developed in education system to improve healthy diets and lifestyles, enhancing academic achievement.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic achievement
• diet quality
• eating behaviors
• schoolchildren
• sleep

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to all students and parents for their contribution by participating in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Y.Q. and J.Z. analyzed data and wrote the paper. Y.Q., L.L., M.N.L., M.L., and B.M. conducted research. Y.X. and J.Z. designed research and had primary responsibility for final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics statement

The studies were reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Xi’an Jiaotong University (No: 2019–1063).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Natural Science Basic Research Plan of the Shaanxi Province [No. 2020JQ-547] and the Scientific Research Fund of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University [No. YJ(QN)202006].