ABSTRACT
The study examined Eating Habit As A
Determinant Of Academic Performance Among Secondary School Students In
Ikenne Local Government Area.
More specifically, the study sought to assess the eating habits and academic performance among secondary school students.
The study emphasizes on the problem
which sees that most students in our secondary schools today are unable
to eat healthily due to the time of their classes.
The study comprises of students in
senior secondary school classes two and three (SS2 and SS3), random
sampling technique was use to pick the respondents of these classes and
187 senior secondary school students were selected in Ishanbi
Comprehensive High School. The sample size was determined using Solvin
(1960) sample size formula.
180 respondents duly participated in the
survey. A well- developed questionnaire was designed to elicit
information from the respondents
The items of measurement will was rated
on a 5-point Likert type scale which ranks responses on a scale of
strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1).
The data analysis used for the study was carried out in two stages: the descriptive and inferential analysis.
Result from the study indicated that the
variants of eating habit in terms of breakfast consumption, water
consumption, late-night eating and consumption of healthy meals have
significant impact on the academic performance of students, Furthermore,
it was also found that gender moderates the influence of eating habit
on the academic performance of students, it also indicated that late
night eating affect the sleeping pattern of students.
Also, it was found that good eating
habit promotes students’ physical wellness and academic performance, and
eating healthy diets strengthens students’ intellectual development.
Base on this, the study advised that
parents/schools should ensures that their children/students take
nutritious meals as breakfast before coming to school, and Schools
should make sure students are enlightened and advised to consume a lot
of water, at least 1 liter per day to improve students concentration
during teaching sessions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Most students in our secondary schools
today are finding it difficult to concentrate and do well in their
studies and because of this, academic achievement becomes a problem.
Many of the academic problems students face is fueled by poor nutrition
and lack of proper eating habit. Academic performance is measured
through continuous assessments and examinations. Academic performance
can be seen as a problem when students are not able to reach the
short-term or long-term goals in their education. When students do not
perform well in school, it can be seen to be that the students did not
study hard for the examination or test and also can be caused by poor
concentration in school, poor memory, poor ability to follow through
topics and also poor coordination in class.
Academic performance refers to a
student’s success in meeting their short-term or long-term goals in
education. It could be a success or failure. Poor academic performance
according to Aremu (2003) is a performance that is adjudged by the
examiner or tester and significant others as falling below expected
standard. In secondary schools, we face poor academic performance which
can be seen as either the fault of the students or the teacher or even
the school. The main aim of going to school is to be able to achieve
something academically like a university degree, WAEC certificate and so
on. Therefore, if then a student is not able to achieve anything
academically during the years in school, there is a problem. We have
identified some of the problem to be the student’s lack of
concentration, poor memory, poor ability to follow up, poor
coordination, the student finding it hard to study, poor exercise, poor
nutrition, poor eating habit and so on. The falling level of academic
performance is attributable to teacher’s non-use of verbal reinforcement
strategy (Morakinyo 2003). Lack of facilities has an adverse effect on
the performance of students in the less endowed school (Dewees 1999).
This shows that schools also affect a student’s academic performance.
The researcher would mainly be focusing on the eating habit of students.
Eating habits can be seen as the way a
person eats, considered in terms of what types of food are eaten, in
what quantity and when (Collins English dictionary 2016). We therefore
can say that poor eating habit can be seen as the ways people eat, the
food they eat, and when they eat which affects their health negatively.
Eating habits are determined by some factors such as: individual
preference, cultural influence, social influence, religious influence,
economic influence, environmental influence and even political influence
(diet 2016). There are some poor eating habits experienced by students
almost daily. They include: skipping breakfast, late night eating,
drinking little water, eating large quantity of food and eating during
activities. For skipping of breakfast, studies show that skipping
breakfast detracts from scholastic achievement (Clarke University,
2006). Late night eating is when students eat late at night because they
are hungry or had a really long stressful day. Students drink little or
no water. Water is good for the body but students tend to drink little
or no water but rather take a lot of soda or soft drink or any liquid
with a lot of sugar. It is advised that students carry a water bottle
along to class (Clarke University, 2006). Eating large quantity of food
is the fact that students eat large quantities of food when they are
hungry or because the food is really good and they do not like the next
meal so they stuff themselves so that they can skip the next meal by
saying they are not hungry. When it comes to eating during activities,
students like to eat during classes, afternoon and night reading time,
when they are doing their assignment in their free time and when they
are reading. They also eat when they are emotional or stressed. Students
that are well fed and have proper nourishment are ready to learn.
Breakfast is the most important meal of
the day. It makes us active for the workload ahead of us. Eating
breakfast gives us the energy and makes us active. Therefore, when
students skip their breakfast because they are running late for class
simply means that the students would not be active the whole day in
class. It would lead to sleeping in class and not participating at all.
For late night eating, students tend to eat late at night before going
to bed because they had a long stressful day with class, sports, and
different activities. They become tired and hungry making them eat. This
affects their sleeping. Eating too close to bedtime will give sleeping
difficulty since your body will be busy digesting food. When students do
not sleep well, the next day the students would be so tired to
participate in class, instead, the students would want to sleep making
the students unable to concentrate in class. This affects their academic
performance. When it comes to drinking water, students prefer soda or
any sugary drink to just drinking water and it has been seen that water
has many positive effects on the body. Water in fact helps the body in
so many ways like it boost the brain, it helps overcome fatigue
especially in class, it flushes the kidney leading to less stomach ache
also, water prevents pains in the muscles and joints (Schwecherl 2014).
With all these that water performs, when students drink a lot of water
and less of sugary liquid the students would not experience anything
that would keep them out of class making him or her perform better
academically. For eating large quantity of food, students eat large
quantities of food to help them through the next activity or to prevent
eating the next meal. This is a poor eating habit for students because
too much food makes the student tired and unable to achieve what was
meant to be achieved. When students are tired, the students are unable
to participate in class and thereby achieving very little academically.
Also, for eating during activities, students face a lot of activities a
day and the only way to survive is to eat their way through those
activities. They secretly eat during class, during their free time,
during their reading time, even during sports time. Excess eating
affects the concentration of the students in those activities.
Due to the above, this study is set out
to look into eating habit as a determinant of academic achievement
amongst secondary school students in Ikenne Local Government Area.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
Most students in our secondary schools
today are unable to eat healthily due to the time of their classes.
There is no time to prepare a nutritious meal so they end up taking any
form of food they see be it snacks or fatty food to be able to keep them
going through the day.
Due to this fact, they sometimes see the
teacher as boring but unknown to them when they get tired or bored, it
is likely that the food which they have eaten is making them tired,
losing interest in the lesson and this adversely affects their academic
achievement.
Hence, the study sets out to identify
the extent to which their nutrition and eating habit will affect their
academic achievement.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The objectives of this study are to
examine eating habit affects academic performance amongst secondary
school students in Ikenne Local Government Area. It specifically aims
to:
- Examine the influence of eating habit on the academic performance of secondary school students in Ikenne Local Government Area.
- Examine if gender will moderate the influence of eating habit on
academic performance of secondary school students in Ikenne Local
Government Area.
1.3 Research Questions
- Will eating habit significantly influence the academic performance of secondary school students in Ikenne Local Government Area?
- Will gender significantly moderate the influence of eating habit on
the academic performance of secondary school students in Ikenne Local
Government Area?
1.4 Research Hypothesis
The research would be based on the following hypothesis:
- Eating habit will not significantly influence the
academic performance of secondary school students in Ikenne Local
Government Area.
- Gender will not significantly moderate the influence of eating habit
on the academic performance of secondary school students in Ikenne
Local Government Area.
1.5 Scope of the Study
This research work which is focused on
the influence of eating habit on academic performance amongst secondary
school students in Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun state will cover
SS2 and SS3 students in selected secondary schools in Ikenne Local
Government Area, Ogun state
1.6 Significance of the Study
The focus of this study is centered on
the influence of eating habit of secondary school students in Ikenne
Local Government Area. The core objective is to examine how eating habit
affects the academic performance of secondary school students in Ikenne
Local Government Area. This study is important as it would highlight
the relevance and role of eating habit on students in secondary schools.
Students will benefit from this study as
it would serve as a means of enlightenment to them on the crucial
relevance of their eating habit to their academic performance in their
studies and also make them understand that what they eat affects them to
as when they study.
Teachers will find this research helpful
in order for them to understand that students’ academic performance are
not only based the way they study, when they study and how many times
they attend class but also on what they eat and the way they eat.
Parents will also find this research
helpful in order for them to get the idea that though their children
study hard, they may not be able to perform better because of the type
of food they eat, when they eat and the way they eat. The study will
also recommend proper eating habits for parents to adopt in order to
provide their children with healthy eating habits.
Secondary schools will also benefit from
this research because they would be able to provide the students with
healthier meals both in the cafeteria and in the small shops that food
is sold.
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms
In the course of this study, the following variables are operationally defined to serve as a guide in understanding them:
Eating Habit: this can be seen as the way a person eats, considered in terms of what types of food are eaten, in what quantity and when.
Academic Performance:
is a student’s success in meeting up with his or her short- term or
long- term goals in education. It is also what a student was attaining
while in school both good or high and bad or low. It is measured by the
final grade earned in the course. It is defined by the student’s
reporting of past semester CGPA/GPA and the expected GPA of the current
semester. The grade point average (GPA) is a better measurement because
it provides a greater insight into the relative level of performance of
individuals and different groups of students.