The Association of Self-Reported Sleep, Weight Status, and Academic Performance in Fifth-Grade Students

The rise in children’s obesity rates suggests there is an urgent need to promote healthy behaviors among youth.1 Because obesity is associated with increased risk of many chronic diseases, addressing obesity in children can have a long-term positive impact on health. Rates of obesity and overweight status in US children are concerning, part due to their association with related health problems.2–5 Health Behaviors and Weight Status Obese children differ from normal weight children in regards to their eating behavior, physical activity patterns and sleep patterns.6,7 In England, schoolchildren aged 10–16 years who only sometimes ate breakfast were more likely to be obese than those who always did.8 Other nutritional factors such as the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages also have been identified as possible contributing factors to the increase in weight status among children.9 Some studies have shown a link between sleep patterns and risk of obesity in adolescents,10–12 and particularly in elementary school children.13 Other health related behaviors such as watching television also seem to affect children’s health. Results from the 2003–04 and 2005–06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys suggest high TV viewing as a predictor for cardio-metabolic risk factors such as obesity or hypertension.14 Health Behaviors and Academic Performance There is a great deal of interest in how health behaviors relate to academic performance. Sleep patterns, physical activity, eating behaviors, and body weight have all been suggested to influence academic performance.15–18 Edwards et al. 17 found that higher academic scores were associated with less soda consumption, more physical activity and fewer hours of watching television. A review investigating the relationship between obesity and academic performance revealed that overweight and obesity were associated with poorer academic performance.16 Whereas these data are promising, additional research is required to solidify the link between health behaviors and academic performance. Interventions with Children Much research in health behavior in schools has targeted 5th graders (age of 9–10 years).19–21 One reason is that persistent obesity is thought to develop before the age of 11 years.22 In addition, 5th grade students are already making decisions about food purchases and participation in physical activities; however, they also still depend on their families and the school when it comes to food and physical activity choices as well as other health behaviors such as sedentary behavior and sleep patterns. Lastly, because 5th graders are the oldest children in elementary schools they may be more willing to engage in interventions than children in middle schools where social pressures focus less on healthy behaviors, and physical activity declines.23 Colorado is the state with the lowest rates of adult obesity 24 but it is not the state with the lowest rates of childhood obesity.25 Data from the 2008 Colorado Child Health Survey showed that approximately 28.7 % of Colorado children ages 1–14 years were overweight or obese.26 Obesity rates vary as a function of ethnicity and socioeconomic status such that obesity is a particular problem in parts of Colorado with more minority and low income populations. The current study presented herein explored associations among various health behaviors, overweight, socioeconomic status and academic performance in 5th graders using secondary data from a school district in Denver, Colorado.