Nutrition+and+Student+Performance+Fall+2012





**Description of Problem or Issue ** Our group has chosen to research the food being used to fuel America's student body. In many ways, we feel that nutrition in America's schools is an important but frequently overlooked issue. All the buzz about issues like test scores and teacher accountability have pushed the issues associated with school nutrition onto the back burner. Our research sent us in a variety of different directions but ultimately we determined that the food we feed our students is just as important to their daily success as the teacher that stands in front of them or the supplies they have to work with at their desks. Proper nutrition primes the brain for its peak performance and for this reason it deserves the attention of anyone involved in American education. //How are poor eating choices affecting our overall health?// Nutrition has a huge impact on student performance. It is imperative that one educates themselves on the importance of staying healthy. Obesity is the most common form of poor nutrition and puts children at high risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer heart disease and stroke. Children suffering from obesity suffer from very long term physical complications, psychological and social complications. It is true that children the consume healthy foods learn better simply because they are not hungry or malnourished. However, children that are not eating as well as they should be manifest certain behaviors such as irritability, apathy, and very limited physical activity. Because of their poor eating decisions, more students will be likely to miss class and are fall behind in class work. Students without healthy diets have little energy and trouble concentrating during class time resulting in poor grades. School programs have been implemented to solve this issue such as the National School Lunch Program and the Breakfast Program providing children with nutritionally sound meals. These programs constitute the primary source of nutrition for many children.
 * Research Summary **
 * Alix's research:**

//How does nutrition affect academic performance?// Obese students have been shown to perform below their average weight peers on tests of math, reading, social skills, and behavior. These students are more likely to live in poverty, which can also affect their performance in these areas, as well as other academic areas. The effect of breakfast of school performance has been proven to be overwhelmingly positive- students who eat a healthy breakfast perform measurably better on tests and in classroom behavior than their classmates who do not. Obese students, especially those also living in poverty, are likely to miss out on the benefits of breakfast, because they tend to eat high fat, high sugar, low protein foods with little or no nutritional value. These foods negate the benefits of a healthy breakfast, because instead of providing for increased energy and focus they create a "crash" that impairs performance. The early nutrition of children has been shown to effect later IQ and academic performance- students who were food-insecure or ate primarily high-fat, high-sugar, low quality diets in their first eight years of life were shown to have a lower IQ at age 8 than their peers who has secure, nutrient-rich, high-quality diets.
 * Liz's research:**

//What programs are already in existence? // Due to the increased concern of children's health in the United States, multiple food programs have been designed and put into place nationwide. These programs follow the National Dietary Guidelines, decreasing calories and improving the quality of food that is being served for school meals. Schools participating in these programs are given incentives, such as money and donations, to change their menus. Schools have the opportunity to make money and promote good health within their schools. Although some schools have had a successful transition, it is clear through these articles that there is still a great deal of disagreement and controversy. Many argue that these programs only focus on making a profit and are less concerned with the health and the reaction of the students to these new programs that have been enforced. There are many steps that schools must take, such as educating students and families, hiring the proper staff, and testing their plans, in order to create and implement the most successful school food program possible.
 * Cassie's research: **

//Why is funding for healthy lunch hard to get?// Many school districts are trying to provide healthier lunch and breakfast to students in all grades. However they are finding it difficult to balance healthy nutritional food and the budget for that food. In many cases junk food is provided because it is cheaper to buy and students will have more to eat. But in fact eating more junk food instead of a “normal” balanced meal is creating bigger problems outside of the school. Many schools are finding it hard to receive necessary funding for better quality food for students and this stems from the top. Beginning with government funded programs, if each state doesn’t apply or qualify for the programs; it is up to that individual state to come up with the money for the increase in food budget. Some states are trying to balance this by increasing resident’s taxes, so that the schools districts budgets will be fulfilled, however this is not always approved by all of the residents. From most of the research I have found, there are many reasons schools are not being provided with the adequate funding for healthier food. Because the funding stems from the top (meaning the government) it is difficult to trickle down into individual states and school districts.
 * Katie's research:**

//How does poverty present itself in the issue of school nutrition?// Like so many other issues facing today's schools, poverty provides a significant challenge to keeping America's students healthy. Poor schools located in densely urban or extreme rural areas of the country find themselves in the middle of food deserts where the nearest grocery store is at least 20 minutes away. For many students at these schools, access to affordable, nutritious food simply does not exist at home and therefore they are left to rely on the breakfast and lunch programs at their school. Unfortunately, poorly funded schools have a hard enough time keeping teachers and supplies for their students, nevermind attempting to make up for the nutritional shortcomings in the neighborhood. Additionally, the two groups most likely to be overweight or obese as children are the poor and minority students attending these same poorly funded schools. The environment these children grow up in promotes consumption of energy dense foods which are cheaper and more readily available than the nutritious foods you would find in a grocery store or farmer's market. Essentially, the students at greatest risk, who need the greatest amount of improvement in their diet, are the ones that are the least likely to get the help they need because the monetary issues they face both at home and in school simply will not allow for it.
 * Faith's research:**


 * Project Overview **

1. As an ice breaker, we will take a short online nutrition quiz as a group to see how our class' knowledge of nutrition is at the beginning of the presentation. Before the quiz, students in the class will be given a choice between two snacks provided by our group as a demonstration of student choice in the lunch line.

[|Nutrition Quiz]

2. Our group will present a slide show discussing our research. Alix will begin with a discussion on how poor eating choices affect overall health and Liz will follow with her research on how nutrition affects learning. Cassie's part of the presentation introduces the class to school nutrition programs that are already in place. Faith will discuss how poverty presents itself in the issue of school nutrition, and finally Katie will discuss why schools have a hard time getting funding for different breakfast and lunch programs.

3. At the end of our presentation we will divide the class into several small groups and hand them each a print out of the November lunch menus at Chariho High School and Barrington High School. Each group will be asked to create two meals: one being the healthiest that they can come up with and the other being the meal they think an average student would find most appealing. The groups will be able to use this experience to understand why students, even when provided with healthy options, are often tempted to choose foods high in fat and sugar simply because they taste better.

**Mind Map **

**Annotated Bibliography ** What programs are already in existence? - Cassie Audette

How does poverty present itself in the issue of school nutrition? - Faith Hoffman

How does nutrition affect learning? - Liz Durigan

Why is funding for healthy lunch hard to get? -Katie Pelloni

How is poor nutrition affecting our overall health?