The relationship between body-mass index and academic achievement in third-grade white females

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between BMI and academic achievement in third-grade white females. Academic achievement was determined by classroom grades and standardized achievement test scores (e.g. CTBS). Also assessed were teachers' predictions for school success and teachers' perception of student behavior. The results of the investigation indicated no statistically significant differences in classroom grades between groups of "normal-weight" students and a group of obese students. However, teachers predicted less school success for obese girls and the highest degree of school success for the thinnest girls, and ANCOVA revealed statistically significant lower CTBS scores for obese girls. While MANCOVA of BMI and other confounding factors on CTBS scores showed BMI was not statistically significant, a relationship does exist. A model is proposed linking BMI and academic achievement through the mediating factors of teachers' predictions for success (teacher expectancies) and parents' level of education.