Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation Focus Area, Faculty of Health Science, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
School of Human Movement Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 26;18(17):8973. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18178973.
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 ( = 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 -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 ( < 0.05) over time. Stunting had prolonged and significant negative influences on language, mathematics, and grade point average ( < 0.05). Early identification of undernutrition, especially stunting, is important for intervention and the implementation of timely prevention strategies, especially during early childhood years.
贫困的社会经济地位导致营养不足，而营养不足又会增加学业成绩不佳的风险。本研究旨在确定在南非西北省，6 至 13 岁的小学女童中，生长迟缓、体重不足和消瘦是否与学业成绩存在长期关系。采用随机分层纵向研究设计，包括基线和 7 个学年的两次测量。样本包括南非西北省 6 至 13 岁的女童（n=198）。使用 6 月学校评估以及 1、4 和 7 年级的国家和省级评估来确定学业成绩。独立检验用于确定消瘦、体重不足和生长迟缓的女孩与没有营养不足指标的参考组之间的差异。重复测量方差分析和事后 Bonferroni 调整用于分析随时间的关系。体重正常的女孩在学业成绩上明显优于生长迟缓的女孩（<0.05）。生长迟缓对语言、数学和平均绩点有长期和显著的负面影响（<0.05）。早期识别营养不良，特别是生长迟缓，对于干预和实施及时的预防策略非常重要，特别是在儿童早期。
