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Effects of a Comprehensive School Health Program on Elementary Student Academic Achievement
Author(s) -
Centeio Erin E.,
Somers Cheryl,
Moore E. Whitney G.,
Kulik Noel,
Garn Alex,
McCaughtry Nate
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12994
Subject(s) - academic achievement , reading (process) , curriculum , intervention (counseling) , psychology , mathematics education , class (philosophy) , medical education , medicine , pedagogy , artificial intelligence , psychiatry , political science , computer science , law
BACKGROUND Improving the academic achievement of youth in the United States is an area of interest and a critical indicator of the future success of the youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a comprehensive school physical activity and healthy eating program on 5th‐grade students' academic achievement, specifically reading and math. METHODS Overall, 628 (intervention: 377, 54% girls; comparison: 251, 49% girls) 5th‐grade children participated across the 6 schools in a year‐long comprehensive health intervention, completing curriculum‐based academic achievement measures at 2 time‐points. RESULTS Results showed that even after controlling for class clustering, age, sex, race, and T1 reading and math variables, students' T2 reading and math achievement were significantly higher in the intervention group than the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS Comprehensive health programming can enhance the health and academic achievement of youth.