What Teachers Learn From Nutrition for Children

Teachers, even more than parents, get to witness the difference a child's diet has on school performance and behavior. Before they begin teaching, many teachers are blissfully unaware of how nutrition and children's school performance are related, but are enlightened after beginning their teaching career. The negative effect of lots of sugary foods on a child's behavior is generally accepted as common knowledge, yet there are other factors that can disadvantage a child in school. These other health factors are increasingly making the spotlight as schools and their teachers seek to make a positive change.

Breakfast -- The Most Important Meal

• Teachers learn quickly how a hungry child can turn into a child they never knew before. When children are hungry they tend to be irritable and especially uncooperative. These behaviors are heightened if the day is begun without food. It is similar to asking a car to run without gas--it doesn't work. The Food Research and Action Center states that eating breakfast helps a child better perform difficult mental functions and handle unpleasant or disappointing situations. Eating breakfast is also associated with lower obesity in children.

Deficiencies

• The Food Research and Action Center also reported that children are more likely to get the nutrients they need on a daily basis if they eat breakfast. This means less deficiencies in children. Iron deficiency may not only cause anemia, but may also decrease cognitive function. School lunches have been found lacking in nutrients, and with increased awareness of this problem, many schools are seeking to remedy this deficiency.

Physical Activity

• More timing moving equals less time in front of the TV.

  With technology lessening our daily physical movement, physical inactivity in the United States population is becoming more common, with school children far from immune to this trend. The 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that, in a given week, physical education classes were not attended by 44 percent of students and 33 percent spent 3 hours (or more) watching TV every school day. Recommendations for increased P.E. classes and activities were issued after the study.

Junk Food

• Access to high-calorie, low-nutrient foods can make a big difference in the diet quality in school children. Limiting availability of junk food to children in school can help them form better habits that they will take with them into adulthood. The Center for Disease Control says studies show that increased availability of junk food is associated with an overall decrease in children choosing healthy food while at school.