CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to the EFA Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO 2011), more than a quarter of children in Sub-Saharan Africa under the age of fifteen are underweight as a result of inadequate diet and deprivation, rendering them more susceptible to illness and less likely to focus at school. Malnutrition is a clinical disease that results from the over- or under-consumption of one or more important macro- or micronutrients in relation to the individual's physiological and pathological requirements (Ecker & Nene 2012). Malnutrition is a harmful disease that occurs when the body is deprived of the foods it needs to survive properly. A shortage of food or an unbalanced diet that is deficient in one or more nutrients may result in poor nutrition (Chinyoka & Naidu, 2013). Children who do not eat enough key nutrients including calcium, potassium, and vitamin C growing not be able to perform at their best in kindergarten (Nabarro et al. 2012). According to Connell (2010), 34% of low birth weight children were either repeating grades or were put in special education schools, while just 14% of high birth weight children had the same experience. Another study found that low birth weight attributed to inadequate diet causes increased levels of grade repetition (Bray et al., 2010). Knowing what food deficits can cause in terms of learning can assist families in feeding their children appropriately so that they can excel in class. This demonstrates the role of diet in the academic success of grade seven students.

No country can afford to squander its wealth, including its people's intellectual capacity. But that is just what is occurring when children's brains are permanently damaged by micronutrient deficiency, and anemia and short-term starvation limit their school success. In an educational landscape rife with failed schools and disgruntled teachers, state boards of education have been looking for ways to improve test outcomes, exam results, and build school districts where all students obtain the best possible education. One potential remedy for improving academic achievement is to examine the dietary content of what school-aged students consume each day while they try to learn on a daily basis, as well as the impact of such nutrition on academic performance.

Nutrition is a critical component of human existence, fitness, and growth over the lifespan. Proper food and nutrition are important for longevity, physical growth, mental development, success and competitiveness, fitness, and well-being from the earliest stages of foetal development, birth, and through adulthood and old age (WHO 2000). The importance of nutrition in human existence and academic success is analogous to the role of "steam" in a car. Our cells are like microscopic energy-producing devices and, like machines, need regular maintenance to stay in good working order. If the cells don't get enough nutritious power, they become slow and ineffective.

The consumption of an insufficient diet, i.e. food that is not balanced, leads to malnutrition diseases such as obesity, pellagra, night blindness, rickets, goiter, anemia, and so on. The relationship between nutrition and cognition, as well as psychosocial behavior, which determine academic performance, has not been well addressed in previous research. However, it shall be looked at in depth in this study.

1.2  STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Nutrition is a very crucial part of any individuals’ performance rate, especially those of students. For a very long time, this has sparked a lot of debate among interested parties, such as teachers, parents, and governments, in an educational environment plagued by failed schools and students. People agree that the government can play a role in improving nutrition, but parents and teachers still have a role to play. Students come from various homes and yet the blame falls on the government on the school body, on the other hand, parents can make a habit of ensuring the students eat enough food before heading to school or at least packing the food for the children to take to school.

This study seeks to examine the effects of nutrition on the academic performance of students.

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.      The impact of a balanced diet on students’ academic performance.

2.      To investigate the role of nutrition in physical development of students.

3.      The effect of malnutrition on student academic performance.

1.4  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.      What is the impact of a balanced diet on students’ academic performance?

2.      What is the role nutrition in physical development of students?

3.      What are the effects of malnutrition on student academic performance?

1.5  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

When the research is over, it will look at the impact of diet on student academic success. Furthermore, this research would look at some of the health issues that are linked to diet and nutritional diseases that students have mentioned. Some health problems linked to nutrition will also be preferred to a solution and prevention. They would also be aware of diseases linked to poor diet and their effect on academic success. As a result, it is anticipated that the study's results would be useful to state and local agencies in their efforts to improve student wellbeing and food resources. This research would equip children, caregivers, and teachers with the skills necessary to handle the limited resources available in order to fulfill the Nutritional Association's Current Meal Pattern Requirement. It would also act as a point of reference for other researchers.

1.6  SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will only cover the effects of nutrition on the academic performance of students, taking into consideration some of the factors that are crucial in ensuring proper nutrients are provided to the students.

1.7  LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study was limited by the availability of funds and insufficient time.

1.8  OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

1.      NUTRITION: The process of taking in food and using it for growth, metabolism, and repair.

2.      ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Academic performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals

REFERENCES

 UNESCO. 2011. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011: The hidden crisis: Armed conflict. Paris: UNESCO.

Chinyoka, K. & Naidu, N. 2013. Uncaging the Caged: Investigating the Impact of Poverty on Form Three Learners' Academic Performance in Zimbabwe International Journal of Educational Sciences, 6:203-213.

Ecker, O. & Nene, M. 2012. Nutrition policies in developing countries: Challenges and highlights. Policy Note 1. Washington DC, International Food Policy Research Institute.

Bray R., Gooskens, I., Khan, L., Moses, S. & Seekings, J. 2010. Growing up in the new South Africa: Childhood and adolescence in post-apartheid. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

Nabarro, D., Menon, P., Ruel, M. & Yosef, S. 2012. Scaling Up Nutrition: A global movementto accelerate progress in reducing maternal and child under-nutrition. Brief 9. In: J. Linn. (ed.).

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