Institute of Biomedicine/Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland.
Childhoold Health and Active Living Research Group, Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Eur J Nutr. 2017 Oct;56(7):2299-2308. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1270-5. Epub 2016 Sep 9.
Poor diet quality may impair academic achievement in children, but such evidence is limited. Therefore, we investigated the associations of healthy diet in Grade 1 assessed by Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS), and Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index (FCHEI) with academic achievement in Grades 1-3 in children.
The participants were 161 Finnish children who were 6-8 years old in Grade 1 and attended in a large ongoing physical activity and dietary intervention study. Dietary factors were assessed using 4-day food records, and MDS, BSDS, and FCHEI were calculated. Academic achievement was assessed by reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skill tests. The data were analyzed using linear regression analysis and analysis of covariance adjusted for age, sex, parental education, household income, body fat percentage, physical activity, the PANIC Study group, and total energy intake.
MDS was positively associated with reading comprehension in Grade 3 (standardized regression coefficient β = 0.167, P = 0.032). BSDS was positively associated with reading fluency in Grades 2-3 and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 (β = 0.161-0.274, P < 0.05). FCHEI was positively related to reading fluency in Grades 1-2 and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 (β = 0.190-0.344, P < 0.05). Children in the highest third of BSDS and FCHEI had better reading fluency and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 than children in the lowest third (P < 0.05). None of the diet scores was associated with arithmetic skills.
Healthier diet assessed by BSDS or FCHEI in Grade 1 was associated with better reading skills, but not with arithmetic skills, among children in Grades 1-3. Long-term intervention studies are needed to investigate the effects of improvements in diet quality on academic achievement among children.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01803776.
较差的饮食质量可能会影响儿童的学业成绩，但此类证据有限。因此，我们研究了在一年级时通过地中海饮食评分（MDS）、波罗的海饮食评分（BSDS）和芬兰儿童健康饮食指数（FCHEI）评估的健康饮食与儿童 1-3 年级的学业成绩之间的关系。
参与者为 161 名芬兰儿童，他们在一年级时年龄为 6-8 岁，参加了一项正在进行的大型体育活动和饮食干预研究。饮食因素通过 4 天的食物记录进行评估，计算 MDS、BSDS 和 FCHEI。学业成绩通过阅读流畅性、阅读理解和算术技能测试进行评估。数据分析采用线性回归分析和协方差分析，调整因素包括年龄、性别、父母教育程度、家庭收入、体脂百分比、体力活动、PANIC 研究组和总能量摄入。
MDS 与三年级阅读理解呈正相关（标准化回归系数β=0.167，P=0.032）。BSDS 与二年级至三年级的阅读流畅性和一年级至三年级的阅读理解呈正相关（β=0.161-0.274，P<0.05）。FCHEI 与一年级至二年级的阅读流畅性和一年级至三年级的阅读理解呈正相关（β=0.190-0.344，P<0.05）。BSDS 和 FCHEI 最高三分位的儿童在一年级至三年级的阅读流畅性和阅读理解方面优于最低三分位的儿童（P<0.05）。三种饮食评分均与算术技能无关。
一年级时通过 BSDS 或 FCHEI 评估的更健康饮食与儿童 1-3 年级的阅读技能更好相关，而与算术技能无关。需要进行长期干预研究来调查改善饮食质量对儿童学业成绩的影响。
ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符：NCT01803776。
