Tag Archives: children

Mental Health and Cognition

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet is Associated with Greater Academic Performance in Primary Schoolchildren

A study published last year in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior performed a cross-sectional study to determine any potential associations between adherence to the Mediterranean

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com
Photo courtesy of pixabay.com

diet, body weight, energy, and academic performance in Greek school-aged children.

528 primary schoolchildren between the ages of 10 and 12 years old (split relatively evenly between boys and girls) from 21 different schools in and around Athens, Greece were recruited for this study.

Activity levels, anxiety levels, self-esteem/self-perception levels, body image dissatisfaction, and dietary habits for each child were measured using self-reported questionnaires.

Academic performance was evaluated by the children’s teachers, who then completed questionnaires to be analyzed by the researchers.

Finally, height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, and abdominal obesity were measured for each child.

Important Findings:

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Diet Choices

Low Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Associated with Lower Socio-Economic Status in Spanish School-Aged Children

Earlier this year, a study was published in the journal Appetite by a group of Spanish researchers examining the adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet within school children in Logroño, Spain, and how various socio-demographic and lifestyle factors may influence this

Photo By Brittany Carlson (USAG Stuttgart) (United States Army) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo By Brittany Carlson (USAG Stuttgart) (United States Army) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
adherence.

Logroño is located in the well-known wine region of La Rioja in Spain, and within this area, 321 school children between the ages of 11 and 12 from 31 schools were included in the study.

Social and lifestyle factors were determined for each child, in addition to blood pressure, level of physiological and mental development, aerobic fitness, physical activity habits, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

Important findings:

Continue reading Low Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Associated with Lower Socio-Economic Status in Spanish School-Aged Children →