Nutritional status and its association with academic performance among 5-8 grade students in Debremarkos second cycle primary school, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: A number of factors can interfere on the academic performance of children, especially in early schools.  Among these factors, nutritional status and socio-demographic factors are the major contributors. Adequate nutrition for their body growth, development of organs and their functions, body resistance, mental or neurological and cognitive status may be required in early school age period.

Objective: To assess nutritional status and its association with academic performance among 5-8 grade students of second cycle primary school in Debre Markos town.

Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 308 second cycle primary school students among grade 5-8 in Debre Markos town. To assess nutrition related factors, AnthroPlus software was used. Educational performance of children was assessed by using first semester examination marks obtained for the overall subject average.  Data were entered using EPI data version 4.2 and analysis was done by SPSS version 24. Binary and multi-variable analysis were done with binary logistic regression model for statistical analysis.

Results: A total of 308 study participants were included in the study with response rate of 98% in the selected second cycle primary government schools, which were found on four kebeles of Debre Markos Town. According to World Health Organization (WHO) AnthroPlus software, the prevalence of stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight and obesity were 98(35.9%), 8(2.5%), 13(4.9%), 10(3.2%) and 2(0.6%), respectively. With regard to factors associated with academic performance, being malnourished with stunting [AOR (95%CI) =6.51(3.7-11.6)] was significantly associated factor with academic performance of the study participants.

Conclusion: Poor nutritional status on an academic performance is still a public health problem. Malnutrition in the form of stunting was significantly associated with academic performance of the students. Hence, urgent action is needed to tackle nutrition related problems in its all forms to reduce poor academic performance.