Grant Shore

Professor B. Holly

English 101

21 March 2019

Fast Food, Fast Failure: How Obesity Impacts Academic Performance

College students are placed under a lot of stress during their studies. Sacrifices must be

made to their lifestyles in order to accommodate their demanding schoolwork. Many students

choose to eat fast, convenient food for this very reason. This decision comes at a cost, however.

It’s common knowledge that obesity is an epidemic in the United States. But what’s less known

is that obesity negatively impacts a student’s academic performance.

There's clear evidence that points to obesity having a negative impact on academic

performance. Being overweight or obese leads to serious problems that go beyond just physical

health. A high body mass index (BMI) can amplify the chance of developing depression, which

definitively harms school performance. Researchers in Iran found that students with higher than

average BMI had lower grades than their peers. “There are some potential explanations for

reverse association between student grade average and BMI: firstly, as proven in previous

studies, there is a significant correlation between high BMI and depression, which could

strongly affect student performance. Noting that, a study in North Korea on 405 students

confirmed that, psychological problems in overweight and obese students are the major cause of

poor school performance rather than their body image.” (Heshmat). It’s not certain in which

ways obesity harms academic performance, but what is certain is that it does. They are also, of

course, putting themselves at risk of cardiovascular diseases or diabetes.

 Obese students are in a position to improve their health in several different ways. The

most direct course of action is to adopt healthy eating habits; which involves reducing food

consumption and replacing junk food with nutritious alternatives. Weight loss naturally takes a

long time, so this method may not be the best short-term solution. Exercising does work in the

short term, however. Multiple studies show that cardiovascular exercises, such as running or

biking, expands the brain’s learning capabilities by a considerable amount. “In one study,

researchers found that sweaty, heart-pumping aerobic exercise appears to increase the size of

the hippocampus, the brain area relating to verbal memory and learning. Cardio, whether short

or long-term, can boost one’s memory and overall brain health in addition to those otherwise

sedentary adults’ physical fitness.” (Alexandre). The main takeaway is that physical exercise

helps academic performance by enhancing a student’s memory and focus.

In addition to students taking action themselves, schools can do a lot to stop obesity

before it even begins. Overly-processed food with no nutritional merit would not be sold on

school grounds. This kind of regulation has already been proven to curb unhealthiness at a young

age. “Kids who went to a school without junk food regulations maintained about a 37 percent

overweight rate from fifth to eighth grade without budging. However, in schools with junk food

regulations and bans, the number started at 39 percent in fifth grade and declined to about 18

percent by eighth grade.” (Education.com). Limiting access to unhealthy food directly results in

lower obesity rates. We can also conclude that the governing body of schools have the power to

influence health habits.

Of course, we have to acknowledge that banning the sale of unhealthy food on campus

won’t stop students from finding it elsewhere. There’s a Carl’s Jr. only a block away from Valley
College. This sort of change would merely be an inconvenience for anyone interested in eating

fast food. The potential decline in sales at Valley’s cafeteria should also be called into question.

Exposure and ease of access go a long way in defining eating habits, especially at a

young age. I have always been exposed to dangerously unhealthy food at school. I either didn’t

know or didn’t care enough to stop myself from eating it. My place of learning exposed me to

horrible eating habits that persisted even after graduating from high school. I believe the schools

need to take responsibility for the long-term health of their students.

In conclusion, practicing good physical health goes a long way to improve an obese

student’s academic performance. In addition, the school’s administrators need to take action

themselves and ban unhealthy food from being obtained on-campus. Our society has a

responsibility to dissuade people from adopting poor eating habits for the sake of our well-being.

It isn’t an easy task, but it needs to begin somewhere.

Works Cited

Valle, Mec. “How a Healthy Diet Can Seriously Benefit College Students.” Daily Titan, 28 Feb.
2012, dailytitan.com/2012/02/how-a-healthy-diet-can-seriously-benefit-college-students/.

Dively, John. “Should States Ban Junk Food in Schools?” Should States Ban Junk Food in
Schools? | Scholastic.com, www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=10853.

“The Effects of Children Eating Unhealthy School Lunches.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group,
www.livestrong.com/article/351827-the-effects-of-children-eating-unhealthy-school-lunches/.

Heshmat, Ramin, et al. “Do Overweight Students Have Lower Academic Performance than
Their Classmates? A Pilot Cross Sectional Study in a Middle School in Tehran.” Journal of
Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, BioMed Central, 15 Aug. 2014,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4177176/.

Alexandre, Misato. “11 Surprising Health Benefits of Cardio Exercises.” Fitwirr, 20 Apr. 2014,
www.fitwirr.com/fitness/-5-health-benefits-regular-cardio-exercise.
Education.com. “Should Junk Food Be Banned from Schools?” Education.com, 15 Mar. 2013,
www.education.com/magazine/article/junk-food-banned-school/.