Abstract
Research has shown that “healthier students” are “better learners.” Given the strong association between academic achievement and health, it is important to investigate the potential determinants of both, including demographic, socioeconomic, and health factors. The present study sought to investigate the individual- and neighborhood-level determinants of academic achievement and health status in a sample of ethnically diverse adolescents (N=285) who participated in the Heart Smart Health Education Follow-up Study. As 285 adolescents were nested among 20 US census tracts, a multivariate multilevel model (MVMM) was used to analyze the effects of individual-level and neighborhood-level variables on adolescent BMI percentile and weighted GPA. A binary multiple logistic regression was conducted to analyze the impact of these same factors on the odds of having obese weight. In the MVMM, female sex [β = .319, p = .038, (CI, .07, .57)], being US born [β = -.359, p = .040, (CI, -.64, -.08)], speaking Spanish primarily in the home [β = -.327, p = .046, (CI, -.59, -.06)], and higher health literacy [β = .187, p = .002, (CI, .11, .26)] were associated with higher weighted GPA, whereas unhealthy food consumption [β = -2.357, p = .020, (CI, -3.90, -.81)] was negatively associated with BMI percentile. Although cluster mean for age [β = 1.131, p = .014, (CI, .37, 1.89)] was associated with weighted GPA, no other neighborhood-level variables were associated with either outcome. In the binary multiple logistic regression model, older age [β = -1.226, p = .004, (CI, .13, .68)], male sex [β = -2.069, p < .001, (CI, .04, .38)], less physical activity [β = -.448, p < .001, (CI, .50, .81)], and lower weighted GPA [β = -.529, p = .042, (CI, .35, .98)] significantly increased the odds of having obese weight status. These findings draw significant importance to the role of sociocultural factors and health literacy in academic achievement outcomes, the role of health behaviors in weight outcomes, and the importance of age and sex to both academic achievement and weight status.