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Nutrition And Nutrition

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Does nutrition have effects on academic performance?
The relationship between nutrition and academic performance has been a great interest to various amounts of schools and scientist all over the world. “Studies have shown that proper nutrition has a direct effect on student performance and behavior in school” (Ross, 2010, p.3). “Existing data suggests that with better nutrition students are able to learn, students have fewer absences, and students’ behavior improves causing fewer disruptions in the classroom” (Extension, 2014, p.1). To explore the link between nutrition and academic performance, this essay will critically evaluate what foods react differently in our bodies in relation to academic performance, specifically for school-aged children and university students. This essay is divided into three main sections; first, it will examine the effects of poor nutrition such as a limited variety of nutrient-rich foods and excess of high fat and sugary foods, such as fast food, pies, chocolate and more. Secondly, it will examine the effects of good nutrition such as fruits, vegetables, grains and healthy fats. Thirdly it will examine the effects of not eating, specifically focusing on breakfast before school and its effects on learning.
All food impacts our brains and the way they work. Poor nutrition can be classified as an excess amount of nutrient poor foods such as fast food, cakes and more, and a limited amount of nutrient-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables, and whole grains (Vautier, 2012). Nutrient rich foods provide high volumes of all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function at its optimum, whereas poor nutrition will contain little to no vitamins or minerals. Many school-aged children and university students consume fast foods on a daily basis which has been shown to cause lower test grades and a weaker ability specifically in Math, Science and Reading (Guiang, 2014). Researchers from the Ohio State University have said that students who ate these types of food had shown test scores 20% lower than students who did not consume fast food at all (Guiang, 2014). Foods with high sugar and fat content reduce energy levels and lower the ability to concentrate for an extended period of time

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