What+impact+do+school+meals+have+on+student+performance?

Carr, C. (2005, March 27). Test-Prep Diet. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from [] According to this article, increased pressures on students taking the SAT have opened the floodgate to a myriad of ways to increase test scores. One national test firm has posted ideas and tips for nutrition on and before the test day, and many private tutors have similar recommendations for their clients. Nutrition experts advise students to get up in plenty of time to eat breakfast on the big day, so that the child's brain has optimum nutrients during the exam. Caffeine and sugars should be avoided, since their effects are short-term and result in a crash after an hour or so. During the exam, students are advised to snack on trail mix and energy / granola bars, since these give the body a boost from the carbs, and sustained energy from the proteins and fats. The author expresses that good eating habits are a long-term investment, and that perhaps students will take nutrition more seriously when they realize what a difference good food will make over the course of one exam. This article focuses on SAT preparation, however, as the author states, daily good eating habits will make a difference in each student's life. I feel that if a healthy breakfast, snack and lunch were provided to each child in school, the benefits to each child in academics and well-being far outweigh the cost of such a program. Not only would students be receiving quality sustenance, they would be come accustomed to balanced meals and snacks, that would likely stay with them for the rest of their lives. A child that always had a piece of fruit with breakfast, might automatically reach for that orange in the college cafeteria. In a time in which obesity and malnutrition are practically epidemics, such knowledge and habits arguably would do students better than knowing what the sine of a 45 degree angle is.

Florence, M. D., Asbridge, M., & Veugelers, P. J. (2008). Diet Quality and Academic Performance. //Journal of School Health, 78(4)//, 209-215. In this paper, the link between diet quality and students' academic performance is examined. The quality of 5200 5th grade students' diet was analyzed and their performance on a standardized test was assessed. Parents were surveyed and a standardized index was used to quantify their reported diets. Results showed that students with low overall diet quality were more likely to do poorly on the assessment. Girls and students from less socioeconomically challenged families in wealthier neighborhoods did better on the assessment. The article concludes with an argument for the investment and implementation of school nutrition programs to increase students' scholastic performance. This article is interesting, because it suggests that increasing the quality of a child's diet may increase that child's performance in school. However, two red flags immediately began flapping furiously at the back of my mind: How accurate is a parental report of a child's diet? A survey of eating habits is bound to be inaccurate at some level – which parent would want to report that they don't feed their child high-quality food? Furthermore, the research showed that children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families and children with poor overall diet quality did poorly on the assessment. Logically, these two sets of children would be one and the same? After all, a child in a family that can barely pay the bills is most likely not eating high quality food. Therefore, the conclusion that low quality diets are correlated with poor academic performance cannot be logically drawn from the data the researchers presented. Perhaps a more controlled study of a group of students from a single socioeconomic status would be able to more positively correlate diet quality and scholastic performance.

Kotsopoulos, P. (2008, July 10). Brain Food - Improving Children's Academic Performance With Optimal Nutrition. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from [|http://ezinearticles.com/?Brain-­Food-­-­-­Improving-­Childrens-­Academic-­Performance-­With-­Optimal-­Nutrition&id=1314990] Peggy Kotsopoulos, a nutrition consultant, describes the importance of good nutrition on proper brain functioning and provides many suggestions for quick, healthy snacks and meals. According to her, very slight nutritional deficiencies can impair learning, attentiveness and the ability to learn and problem-solve. Even skipping meals or eating nutritionally depleted foods can have the same effect. A study by School of Public Health at the University of Alberta and Dalhousie's Faculty of Medicine found that diversity and quality of food impact academic performance. The author suggests whole grains, fruit and proteins for breakfast, which lead to mental alertness and long-lasting energy. Furthermore, the author says to include healthy Omega-3 fats, reduce the amount of refined sugars and carbs and to include more fruits and vegetables in the diet. This article is quite interesting and provides many tips and examples for implementing her suggestions. Perhaps the most interesting information in this article, is that a nutritionally low-quality diet affects brain chemistry and can lead to many behavioral problems, anxiety and difficulty learning. This is logical, but I didn't realize that skipping a meal or eating a quick junky snack can have the same effects! If I consider my peers in high school who had french fries, ice cream or candy bars for lunch, I wonder if a better lunch would have increased their performance on tests etc. How many children do not receive a nutritionally adequate lunch? All these children would stand to gain from a healthy, balanced (school-provided?) lunch, if one takes this author seriously.

The Maryland Meals for Achievement (MMFA) program provides breakfast to every student in their classroom in participating schools, regardless of family income. Breakfast generally consists of USDA nutrition standards, including milk, juice or fruit and an entree, eg. a bagel, muffin or breakfast sandwich, cereal or french toast. Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have evaluated the results of the program and found that tardiness declines, suspensions decrease, and scores on standardized assessments increase. Furthermore, teachers and staff in schools where the program is in effect report improved learning environments, improved student behavior and attentiveness, as well as continued improvement each successive year of participation the program. The Maryland State Department of Education points out that students routinely beginning their day with a healthy breakfast are learning good eating habits, which will serve them for the rest of their lives, an important benefit in these times of skyrocketing incidences of childhood obesity and inactivity. Researchers underline the importance of eating breakfast in the classroom, since it eliminates the need to go to the cafeteria and potentially being flagged as low-income. This summary article touts the positive effects of providing students with breakfast at the beginning of the day, and cites related research that has demonstrated the effect of eating breakfast. The article states that state legislature awarded $2 Million to the MMFA program (to supplement federal monies funding free/reduced breakfast) in 2001-2002, to serve 90 schools. Roughly $23,000 per school to provide breakfast to each student every day is not a large sum – it's less than an average first-year teacher earns. I think this article is extremely enlightening, because it shows how large the benefits are, and how small the cost of providing breakfast to students really is.
 * Murphy, J. M. et al. (2001). Classroom Breakfast Scores High in Maryland: Findings from Year III of the Maryland Meals for Achievement Classroom Breakfast Pilot Program. **//Maryland State Department of Education, Nutrition and Transportation Services Branch.//

Pugmire, T. (1999, March 03). Study Links Breakfast to Improved Student Performance. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from [] This story, which aired on Minnesota Public Radio, summarizes the findings of a studies by the University of Minnesota and Harvard Medical School: Starting the day with breakfast increases student performance. Unfortunately, only 14% of eligible students participate in free breakfast programs, so the benefits are not being realized. Some schools have begun serving breakfast to all students, regardless of socio-economic status. Kyla Wahlstrom, an education researcher at the University of Minnesota, says students at schools that received breakfast were healthier, better behaved and scored higher on reading and math tests. Wahlstrom explain s “When kids are hungry, they act that out in a variety of ways. And we get manifestation of hunger in acting out behaviors and lack of attentiveness in the classroom. And the kids, when they are fed and feeling good about themselves and their bodies, are more able to learn, I believe.” In light of this research, the governor of Minnesota plans to increase school breakfast program funding by $6 Million. While this article is about ten years old, it shows that serving breakfast in school immensely benefits students. I find it surprising that nothing has happened on a national level, even though ten years ago, research showed the significant gains students make when they eat breakfast. I would have expected widespread changes in state or national legislature to support breakfast programs across the nation by now...

Shilts, M. K., Lamp, C., Horowitz, M., & Townsend, M. S. (2009). Pilot Study: EatFit Impacts Sixth Graders' Academic Performance on Achievement of Mathematics and English Education Standards. //Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior//, //41(2)//, 127-131. In California, the impact of nutrition education on 84 sixth grade students' academic performance is measured by the achievement of academic standards (STAR). EatFit is an education plan (with emphasis on intervention and prevention) which is designed to improve the activities and skills associated with diet and physical activity. Each of nine experiential lesson plans is enhanced with a web-based assessment module, enabling dietary analysis and goal-setting for each student. In this study, students received their usual classroom education for five weeks, then participated in the experimental 9-lesson plan, which was taught by a different instructor. Results show that the nine specialized lessons significantly increased gains in the achievement of academic standards, compared to the five weeks of usual instruction. Age, sex and race seems not to have affected scores, though students with higher initial scores made the least gains, while those with low initial scores showed the largest increase in scores. From this study, one can conclude that improved dietary and physical activities positively impact academic performance in middle school students. I found this research to be very interesting, since it shows that improved nutrition and physical activity alone can “leveling the playing field” for all students – leting struggling students achieve much higher academic success. These findings are significant, and speak for providing students with a nutritional, balanced school lunch (and breakfast): The benefits to students from households where parents are too busy or ignorant to prepare healthful meals are immense. In today's society, where both parents in many families work hard all day and potentially don't have the time/energy/knowledge to prepare a balanced home-cooked meal for their children every evening, children would benefit from good nutrition and physical activity habits in school.