Academic performance and lifestyle behaviors in Australian school children: a cluster analysis
Abstract
Poor academic performance has been linked with particular lifestyle behaviors, such as unhealthy diet, short sleep duration, high screen time, and low physical activity. However, little is known about how lifestyle behavior patterns (or combinations of behaviors) contribute to children's academic performance. We aimed to compare academic performance across clusters of children with common lifestyle behavior patterns. We clustered participants (Australian children aged 9-11 years, n = 284) into four mutually exclusive groups of distinct lifestyle behavior patterns, using the following lifestyle behaviors as cluster inputs: light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity; sedentary behavior and sleep, derived from 24-hour accelerometry; self-reported screen time and diet. Differences in academic performance (measured by a nationally administered standardized test) were detected across the clusters, with scores being lowest in the Junk Food Screenies cluster (unhealthy diet/high screen time) and highest in the Sitters cluster (high nonscreen sedentary behavior/low physical activity). These findings suggest that reduction in screen time and an improved diet may contribute positively to academic performance. While children with high nonscreen sedentary time performed better academically in this study, they also accumulated low levels of physical activity. This warrants further investigation, given the known physical and mental benefits of physical activity.
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The lack of association between overall time spent on screen-based activities and academic performance does not concur with previous research reporting a negative association between overall screen media time and academic performance.
“The lack of association between the overall time spent on screen-based activities and academic performance does not concur with previous research reporting a negative association between overall screen media time and academic performance.[7][8][9]30,56”
From Association Between Screen Media Use and Academic Performance Among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2019) · cites this paper as [30]
Television viewing displaces activities such as homework, reading, physical activity and sleep.
“television viewing displaces activities such as homework, reading, physical activity and sleep [14, 52].”
From Electronic media use and academic performance in late childhood: A longitudinal study (2020) · cites this paper as [52]
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- Authors
- Dumuid, D., Olds, T., Martín-Fernández, J.-A., Lewis, L. K., Cassidy, L., & Maher, C.
- Affiliations
- University of South Australia (AU)
- University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- University of Girona, Girona, Spain
- Flinders University (AU)
- Department for Education and Child Development (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Dumuid, Dorothea
- Venue
- Health Education & Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-04-23
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 918-927
- ISSN
- 1090-1981 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-6127
- OpenAlex
- W2609893148
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 4.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Education & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Coca-Cola Foundation
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › School Health and Nursing Education
- Keywords
- academic performance, lifestyle habits, elementary school students, physical activity, sedentary behavior, screen time, sleep duration, diet, junk food consumption, Australian children
- MeSH terms
- Academic Performance, Australia, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diet, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep, Health Behavior, Exercise, Sedentary Behavior, Self Report, Accelerometry
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