Long-Term Influences of Stunting, Being Underweight, and Thinness on the Academic Performance of Primary School Girls: The NW-CHILD Study

Xonné Haywood and Anita Elizabeth Pienaar
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Xonné Haywood: Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation Focus Area, Faculty of Health Science, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Anita Elizabeth Pienaar: School of Human Movement Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: Poor socio-economic status contributes to undernutrition which, in turn, can increase the risk of academic underachievement. This study wants to determine if stunting, being underweight, and thinness show long term relations with academic performance in primary school girls aged 6 to 13 in the North West province of South Africa. A randomized and stratified longitudinal research design including a baseline and two time-point measurements over seven school years was used. The sample included girls aged 6 to 13 years ( N = 198) in the North West province of South Africa. Academic performance in the June school assessments and national and provincial assessments in grades 1, 4, and 7 were used to determine academic performance. Independent t -testing was used to determine differences between thinness, underweight and stunted girls as opposed to a reference group with no undernutrition indices. A repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc Bonferroni adjustment analyzed relations over time. Normal weight girls significantly outperformed stunted girls academically ( p < 0.05) over time. Stunting had prolonged and significant negative influences on language, mathematics, and grade point average ( p < 0.05). Early identification of undernutrition, especially stunting, is important for intervention and the implementation of timely prevention strategies, especially during early childhood years.

Keywords: academic achievement; primary school girls; undernutrition; stunting; wasting; thinness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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