TY - JOUR
T1 - Academic Performance and Lifestyle Behaviors in Australian School Children
T2 - A Cluster Analysis
AU - Dumuid, Dorothea
AU - Olds, Timothy
AU - Martín-Fernández, Josep Antoni
AU - Lewis, Lucy K.
AU - Cassidy, Leah
AU - Maher, Carol
PY - 2017/4/23
Y1 - 2017/4/23
N2 - Poor academic performance has been linked with particular lifestyle behaviors, such as unhealthy diet, short sleep duration, high screen time, and low physical activity. However, little is known about how lifestyle behavior patterns (or combinations of behaviors) contribute to children’s academic performance. We aimed to compare academic performance across clusters of children with common lifestyle behavior patterns. We clustered participants (Australian children aged 9-11 years, n = 284) into four mutually exclusive groups of distinct lifestyle behavior patterns, using the following lifestyle behaviors as cluster inputs: light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity; sedentary behavior and sleep, derived from 24-hour accelerometry; self-reported screen time and diet. Differences in academic performance (measured by a nationally administered standardized test) were detected across the clusters, with scores being lowest in the Junk Food Screenies cluster (unhealthy diet/high screen time) and highest in the Sitters cluster (high nonscreen sedentary behavior/low physical activity). These findings suggest that reduction in screen time and an improved diet may contribute positively to academic performance. While children with high nonscreen sedentary time performed better academically in this study, they also accumulated low levels of physical activity. This warrants further investigation, given the known physical and mental benefits of physical activity.
AB - Poor academic performance has been linked with particular lifestyle behaviors, such as unhealthy diet, short sleep duration, high screen time, and low physical activity. However, little is known about how lifestyle behavior patterns (or combinations of behaviors) contribute to children’s academic performance. We aimed to compare academic performance across clusters of children with common lifestyle behavior patterns. We clustered participants (Australian children aged 9-11 years, n = 284) into four mutually exclusive groups of distinct lifestyle behavior patterns, using the following lifestyle behaviors as cluster inputs: light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity; sedentary behavior and sleep, derived from 24-hour accelerometry; self-reported screen time and diet. Differences in academic performance (measured by a nationally administered standardized test) were detected across the clusters, with scores being lowest in the Junk Food Screenies cluster (unhealthy diet/high screen time) and highest in the Sitters cluster (high nonscreen sedentary behavior/low physical activity). These findings suggest that reduction in screen time and an improved diet may contribute positively to academic performance. While children with high nonscreen sedentary time performed better academically in this study, they also accumulated low levels of physical activity. This warrants further investigation, given the known physical and mental benefits of physical activity.
KW - academic performance
KW - diet
KW - health behavior
KW - physical activity
KW - screen time
KW - sedentary behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85033441727&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1090198117699508
DO - 10.1177/1090198117699508
M3 - Article
C2 - 28436241
AN - SCOPUS:85033441727
VL - 44
SP - 918
EP - 927
JO - Health Education and Behavior
JF - Health Education and Behavior
SN - 1090-1981
IS - 6
ER -