Long-Term Influences of Stunting, Being Underweight, and Thinness on the Academic Performance of Primary School Girls: The NW-CHILD Study

Poor socio-economic status contributes to undernutrition which, in turn, can increase the risk of academic underachievement. This study wants to determine if stunting, being underweight, and thinness show long term relations with academic performance in primary school girls aged 6 to 13 in the North West province of South Africa. A randomized and stratified longitudinal research design including a baseline and two time-point measurements over seven school years was used. The sample included girls aged 6 to 13 years (N = 198) in the North West province of South Africa. Academic performance in the June school assessments and national and provincial assessments in grades 1, 4, and 7 were used to determine academic performance. Independent t-testing was used to determine differences between thinness, underweight and stunted girls as opposed to a reference group with no undernutrition indices. A repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc Bonferroni adjustment analyzed relations over time. Normal weight girls significantly outperformed stunted girls academically (p < 0.05) over time. Stunting had prolonged and significant negative influences on language, mathematics, and grade point average (p < 0.05). Early identification of undernutrition, especially stunting, is important for intervention and the implementation of timely prevention strategies, especially during early childhood years.

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Longitudinal Effects of Excessive Weight and Obesity on Academic Performance of Primary School Boys in Different Socio-Economic Statuses: The NW-CHILD Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18178891 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (17) ◽

pp. 8891

Author(s):

Dané Coetzee ◽

Wilmarié du Plessis ◽

Deidré van Staden

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Primary School ◽

The Body ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Child Study ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Excessive Weight ◽

North West Province

Obesity affects millions of children worldwide and can often impact their academic performance. This longitudinal study, conducted over seven years, determines the effects of excessive weight and obesity on the academic performance of primary school boys, taking into account their socio-economic status (SES). The study forms part of a seven-year (2010–2016) longitudinal study, the North-West Child-Health-Integrated-Learning and Development (NW-CHILD) study, which includes a baseline measurement and two follow-up measurements of the 181 participants from varying areas in the North West Province. Two-way frequency tables, repeated measure ANOVA’s and Spearman rank order correlations were used to analyze the data. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of the participants reported an increase from 2010–2016. Nearly all of the school subjects reported small to large correlations between BMI and academic performance (r ≥ 0.1 and r ≥ 0.3), except for Afrikaans in 2013 (r = −0.06). Only two subjects (English and Language as tested with the ANA test) reported medium effects (r ≥ 0.3), whereas the other subjects only reported small effects (r ≥ 0.1). No statistically significant relationships (p ≥ 0.05) were observed between the BMI values and academic subjects, however SES and school subject scores reported several statistically significant relationships, especially regarding Language (English and First Additional Language) and Mathematics (p = 0.02). Overweight and obese primary school boys in the North West Province of South Africa reported a higher academic performance in comparison to boys of a normal weight, even when SES was taken into consideration. Further studies are recommended to verify current findings regarding weight, obesity and academic performance.

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Nature and Characteristics of the Induction Programme for Primary School Principals in the North West Province, South Africa

The Anthropologist ◽

10.1080/09720073.2012.11891248 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 269-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Olebogeng B. Digwamaje ◽

Thomas (Tom) Buabeng Assan

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Primary School ◽

School Principals ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Primary School Principals ◽

North West Province

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BIOSOCIAL CORRELATES OF AGE AT FIRST SEXUAL INTERCOURSE: THE CASE OF GRADE 9 AND GRADE 11 PUPILS IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932014000492 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 20-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

ACHEAMPONG YAW AMOATENG ◽

ISHMAEL KALULE-SABITI

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Sexual Intercourse ◽

Sexual Debut ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Model ◽

North West ◽

First Sexual Intercourse ◽

The North ◽

North West Province ◽

Grade 11

SummarySurvival analysis – specifically the actuarial life-table method and the Cox Proportional Hazards model – was used to assess Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological model with regards to the onset of sexual intercourse in a random sample of 1697 grade 9 and grade 11 pupils in the North West Province of South Africa. Data were collected in July and August 2007. Of the contextual factors examined, only academic performance and community disorganization were found to be statistically significantly associated with age at first sexual intercourse amongst girls. High academic performance by girls is positively associated with age at first sexual intercourse, while girls who live in disorganized communities initiate sexual intercourse earlier than their counterparts in other communities. Age is negatively associated with the timing of first sexual debut among both girls and boys. Males initiate sexual intercourse earlier than females, while youths with at least one sexual partner are much more likely to initiate sexual intercourse earlier than those without sexual partners.

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Accelerated nutrition transition in the North West Province of South Africa: results from the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE-NWP-SA) cohort study, 2005 to 2010

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980018001118 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (14) ◽

pp. 2630-2641 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Edelweiss Wentzel-Viljoen ◽

Sarie Lee ◽

Ria Laubscher ◽

Hester H Vorster

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Energy Intake ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Nutrition Transition ◽

Nutrient Intakes ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

North West Province ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

AbstractObjectiveSouth Africa (SA) is in the midst of a health transition characterized by a quadruple burden of diseases and a nutrition transition. The existing nutrition transition in SA, accompanied by the coexistence of under- and overnutrition in the population, motivated the present study. Its objectives were to measure and report the changes in nutrient intakes of rural and urban black Africans over time to assess the impact of urbanization and modernization of lifestyles on dietary intakes and non-communicable disease (NCD) risk.DesignThe PURE-NWP-SA study recruited 2000 black South African volunteers aged 35–70 years in 2005, of which detailed nutrient intakes from 1858 participants were available. In 2010 nutrient intakes of a cohort of 1154 participants were measured.ResultsMedian energy intake increased over time. In 2010, rural participants consumed the amount of energy (men 9·7 MJ/d; women 9·1 MJ/d) that urban participants consumed in 2005 (men 9·9 MJ/d; women 9·0 MJ/d). The nutrition transition was characterized by increases in the percentage of energy from animal protein, total fat (rural men and women), saturated (not urban women) and monounsaturated fat, as well as added sugar. Despite the higher energy intake, not all the participants met total micronutrient needs in 2010.ConclusionsThe PURE nutrient intake data confirmed that the nutrition transition in the North West Province of SA is extremely rapid in rural areas. The shift towards higher energy intakes, an animal food-based diet, higher intakes of fat and lower intake of fibre, at the cost of lower plant protein and starchy food intakes, could increase the risk of NCD.

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Longitudinal effects of stunting and wasting on academic performance of primary school boys: The North-West Child-Health-Integrated-Learning and Development study

South African Journal of Childhood Education ◽

10.4102/sajce.v10i1.863 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dané Coetzee ◽

Wilmarié Du Plessis ◽

Deidré Van Staden

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Child Health ◽

Primary School ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Integrated Learning ◽

Learning And Development ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Child Study ◽

North West Province

Background: A worldwide occurrence like stunting and wasting affects both children’s health and academic performance.Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of stunting and wasting on academic performance amongst primary school boys over a period of 7 years (2010–2016) in the North West Province of South Africa.Methods: The study forms part of a longitudinal research design, the North-West Child-Health-Integrated-Learning and Development (NW-CHILD) study, stretched over a period of 7 years from 2010 to 2016. Baseline measurements and two follow-up measurements of boys (n = 181) formed part of this study. Two-way frequency tables and Analyses of variance (ANOVA) tests were used to analyse the data (p ≤ 0.05).Setting: The study was conducted in the North West Province of South Africa.Results: The prevalence of stunting (3.32% – 6.63%) and wasting (3.86% – 6.63%) increased each year from 2010 to 2016. Language, mathematics and overall average academic scores were affected statistically by stunting and wasting (p ≤ 0.05). Over a period of 7 years (overall), it was found that stunting and wasting influenced academic performance, especially concerning language and mathematic subjects.Conclusion: Stunted and wasted primary school boys in the North West Province of South Africa reported a strong negative association with academic performance, especially language and mathematic subjects. Limited data are available concerning stunting, wasting and academic performance, and further studies are therefore recommended to strengthen and support the findings of this study with regard to a better understanding of the effect.

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