Studying the Relationship between Nutrition and School Performance among Children in the State of Kuwait

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Dietary interventions have proven to increase school attendance, increased math and reading scores and grade point average (GPA) among under-nourished and iron-deficient school children. However, the relationship between obesity and scholastic achievement is not conclusive. Obesity and iron deficiency anemia are high among Kuwaiti school children. It is proposed that eating pattern, food and nutrient intake among school children, aged 6-18 years, based on their academic performance, be investigated. A representative sample of 526 school children, currently part of the National Nutrition Survey for the State of Kuwait, representing the six governorates will be included in the current ancillary study. Scholastic performance of the 526 children, including Math and reading scores as well as school attendance will be obtained from their schools. Demographic, dietary, anthropometric and blood and other data that have been already collected, as part of the national survey, will be examined. Student’s T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be performed to test differences in demographic, health status, and dietary intake between children with high and low academic scores. Qualitative survey, based on questionnaires will be conducted on teachers/heads of schools to assess their knowledge of the objective of the study. Findings of this study may serve as a guide to develop a healthy school feeding program, provide health care staff and educators with risk factors to identify challenged children, and to explain students’ low school performance.