Longitudinal Associations between Weight Indicators and Academic Achievement over the Latino College Transition

• In Event: 3-177 - Health, Education, and Self-Regulation among Ethnic Minority Emerging Adults

Integrative Statement

Physical health indicators have been linked with cognitive functioning and resulting academic achievement in children and adolescents (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011). Cross-sectional experimental studies have shown that greater obesity, higher BMI scores, and greater waist circumference (WC) predicted worse cognitive functioning, lower IQ, and poorer executive functioning (Fedor & Gunstad, 2013; Li et al., 2008; Liang et al., 2013). Beyond neurocognitive functioning, these same weight indicators have been associated with academic achievement in children (Datar et al., 2004; Roberts et al., 2010; Shore et al., 2008), and GPA in adolescence (e.g., Deliens et al., 2013). The transition to college is a particularly vulnerable period of adjustment for physical health and academic achievement. However, no studies have examined whether weight indicators during high school predict academic outcomes during college. The current study examined whether BMI scores and WC during high school predicted academic achievement (i.e., grade point average; GPA) and academic motivation in the first semester of college (controlling for prior GPA and academic motivation) in a longitudinal sample of Latino adolescents.

Study participants were 209 Latino/a adolescents (85.1% Mexican descent, 62.1% 2nd generation; 35.6% male; Mage = 17.59) who completed assessments during the spring or summer before entering college (T1) and again during the first semester of college (T2; 88% retention). During home visits at T1, height and weight were measured to compute objective BMI scores, and WC was collected using a Gulick tape measure (Davis, 2008). High school and college

academic records were obtained from institutional data. Participants self-reported academic motivation at T1 (a = .71) and T2 (a = .75; Plunkett & Bámaca-Gómez, 2003). Significant covariates at T1 included in analyses (based on correlations with outcomes) were parent education level, ACT scores, GPA, and academic motivation. Sex and immigrant generation status were explored as covariates, but were not significantly correlated with outcomes.

Table 1 includes sample demographic and descriptive statistics. Multiple regression analyses were conducted in Mplus 7.4 using maximum likelihood with robust standard errors to account for missing data. Higher BMI scores and larger WC at T1 predicted lower GPA at T2, adjusting for prior academic achievement (Table 2). Higher BMI scores at T1 was associated with lower academic motivation at T2, adjusting for T1 academic achievement (Table 2). There were no significant associations between WC at T1 and T2 academic motivation.

These findings suggest that Latino adolescents who have worse physical health during high school may experience lower neurocognitive functioning as compared to their healthier peers during periods of transition (i.e., the transition to college), which may in turn influence academic achievement outcomes. Adolescents show increased autonomy and decision-making regarding eating and academic-related behaviors during the transition to college. As such, difficulty making important health and academic decisions during this transition may place adolescents who already show poor health at increased risk of struggling academically. Future studies will examine whether psychosocial factors moderate (or mediate) links between health and academic outcomes over the transition to college.

Authors

• Reagan Styles Breitenstein, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emma Lecarie, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Leah D. Doane, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author