Nourishing Educational Success: Evaluating the Relationship Between Healthy Eating Habits and Educational Outcome

This analysis extends previous research on the relationship between healthy eating habits and adolescent educational outcomes by examining long-term, rather than proximate, associations. Utilizing self-reported survey data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), we evaluate the correlations between healthy eating and student high school grades and high school completion. The results of the analysis partially support the hypothesis that healthy eating habits facilitate positive educational outcomes, as healthy eating was a significant predictor of high school grades, but not high school completion. Healthy eating does not mediate the relationships between household characteristics, achievement norms and educational outcomes. However, the improved diet quality of students within marginalized groups positively influences their educational success. The results of the analysis point to important social implications related to food access and education, as racial and gendered inequities in socioeconomic status, socialization, and food insecurity levels simultaneously likely explain some differences in adolescent educational outcomes.