Enhancing Academic Success through Healthy School Environments Jean Ragalie, RD President, National Dairy Council March 4, 2013 The Wellness Impact: Enhancing Academic Success through Healthy School Environments

1940 White House Conference on Children and Youth Dr. EV McCollum 1929 Nutrition Education Program 1941 Guide to Good Eating 1971 Big Ideas 1940 White House Conference on Children and Youth

Nutrition & Physical Activity Learning Connection Summit September 2012 Dr. David Satcher Summit Chair

Physical Activity – Healthy Eating Are Linked With…… Academic Success Health & Well-being Risk for: Obesity Chronic conditions Chronic Disease

Mutually Reinforcing HIGHER ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIORS

Benefits of Breakfast at School Fewer disciplinary referrals Improved attention As school foodservice professionals, you know the benefits of breakfast. A benefit that hasn’t been mentioned is breakfast’s positive effect on overall nutrient intake. Research shows that students who eat breakfast have higher consumption of key nutrients than breakfast skippers and Do not make up for those missed nutrients from other meals. This also makes breakfast critical for a healthy child. Now let’s talk about the impact of skipping breakfast. Even among adequately nourished children, diet can impact learning abilities positively or negatively. Unfortunately,  over half of all teens do not eat breakfast each day. Skipping breakfast can have immediate negative effects on learning, especially for children at nutritional risk. Healthy kids that skip breakfast also get more distracted because they are hungry and therefore don’t do as well on tests. Less tardiness Increased math & reading scores Improved attendance Fewer visits to health office

Improving School Performance Brain research and impact on solving math problems Brain activity was more active in breakfast-eaters, fewer mistakes made Less brain activity and more effort needed by breakfast skippers; more mistakes, too Other studies show skippers have worse attention and poorer memories than those eating breakfast

Physical Activity and Learning Benefits to cognition after a 20- minute walk Imaging shows more brain activity in active person than in person sitting quietly Other research shows obesity has negative effects on cognition

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