Health and wellness lab

Editor's Notes

1. Well-nourished students tend to be better students, while poorly nourished children tend to have weaker academic performance and score lower on standardized achievement tests.
2. Inadequate nutrition deprives children of essential vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins that are necessary for optimal cognitive function. For example, iron deficiency has been linked to shortened attention span, irritability, fatigue, and difficulty with concentration,18 while low protein intake has been associated with lower achievement scores.19 Hungry children and those at risk for being hungry were twice as likely to have impaired functioning and higher levels of hyperactivity, absenteeism, and tardiness among hungry/at-risk children than among their peers who were not hungry. Numerous studies have found that increased participation in School Breakfast Programs is associated with increases in academic test scores, daily attendance, and class participation, and it has also been linked to reductions in absences and tardiness.