Finn Kristin E, Faith Myles S, Seo Young S
School of Education and Human Services, Canisius College, 2001 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14208, USA.
Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, University at Buffalo-State University of New York, 420 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-1000, USA.
J Obes. 2018 Oct 1;2018:3729318. doi: 10.1155/2018/3729318. eCollection 2018.
Research has documented an inverse relationship between body mass index (BMI) and school achievement but has failed to empirically explain it. We tested whether this association among adolescents can be explained in part by student engagement.
A self-report survey about health and school behaviors was completed by 196 high school students; BMI and achievement data were obtained from school records. Three forms of engagement were assessed: behavioral, presenteeism, and affective. Associations of engagement with BMI and achievement were examined, and mediation analyses were conducted.
The simple relationship between BMI and achievement was confirmed and demonstrated that BMI was negatively related to academic achievement. Higher BMI was also significantly correlated with lower classroom participation. Mediation tests showed the significant relationship between BMI and achievement was reduced after accounting for behavioral engagement but not affective engagement.
These novel findings shed light on why heavier students often experience lower academic achievement. Intervention studies targeting barriers to classroom engagement among overweight and obese youth are needed so that their academic potential is not compromised.
研究已证明体重指数（BMI）与学业成绩之间存在负相关关系，但未能从实证角度对此加以解释。我们测试了这种青少年之间的关联是否部分可由学生参与度来解释。
196名高中生完成了一项关于健康和学校行为的自我报告调查；BMI和成绩数据从学校记录中获取。评估了三种参与形式：行为参与、出勤主义参与和情感参与。研究了参与度与BMI和成绩之间的关联，并进行了中介分析。
BMI与成绩之间的简单关系得到证实，表明BMI与学业成绩呈负相关。较高的BMI也与较低的课堂参与度显著相关。中介测试表明，在考虑行为参与度后，BMI与成绩之间的显著关系有所减弱，但情感参与度并未产生这种影响。
这些新发现揭示了体重较重的学生为何往往学业成绩较低。需要针对超重和肥胖青少年课堂参与障碍开展干预研究，以免他们的学术潜力受到影响。
