ABSTRACT
The study looked at eating habits as a factor in secondary school students’ academic performance in the Ikenne Local Government Area.
The study’s goal was to evaluate secondary school students’ eating habits as well as their academic achievement.
The study focuses on the issue that most students in today’s secondary schools are unable to eat healthily due to their academic schedules.
Students in senior secondary school classes two and three (SS2 and SS3) were chosen using a random sample technique, and 187 senior secondary school students from Ishanbi Comprehensive High School were included in the study. The sample size was calculated using Solvin’s sample size formula from 1960.
The descriptive and inferential data analysis used in the study were carried out in two steps.
The study’s findings revealed that different eating habits, such as breakfast consumption, water consumption, late-night eating, and the consumption of healthy meals, have a substantial impact on students’ academic performance. Furthermore, it was discovered that gender moderates the impact of eating habits on student academic performance, and that late-night eating affects students’ sleeping patterns.
It was also discovered that good eating habits improve kids’ physical well-being and academic performance, and that consuming nutritious foods helps pupils enhance their intelligence.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The majority of pupils in our secondary schools nowadays are having difficulty concentrating and performing well in their studies, and as a result, academic attainment has become an issue. Poor nutrition and a lack of good eating habits contribute to many of the academic issues that students experience. Continuous evaluations and examinations are used to assess academic performance. When pupils are unable to achieve their short- or long-term educational goals, academic performance might be viewed as a problem. When kids perform poorly in school, it may be seen that they did not study hard for the exam or test, and it can also be caused by bad concentration in school, poor memory, poor ability to follow through on issues, and weak motivation. Academic performance refers to a student’s achievement of short- and long-term educational objectives. It may or may not be a success. According to Aremu (2003), poor academic performance is defined as a performance that is assessed to be below the expected standard by the examiner or tester and significant others. We have poor academic performance in secondary schools, which can be attributed to the students, the teacher, or even the school. Going to school is primarily for the purpose of obtaining an academic goal, such as a university degree or a WAEC certificate. As a result, if a student fails to achieve anything intellectually during his or her school years, there is a problem. Some of these have been recognized. Eating habits can be defined as a person’s eating habits, including what foods they consume, how much they eat, and when they eat them (Collins English dictionary 2016). As a result, we can define unhealthy eating habits as the ways people eat, the food they eat, and when they eat, all of which have a negative impact on their health. Individual preference, cultural impact, social influence, religious influence, economic influence, environmental influence, and even political influence all influence eating habits (diet 2016). Students are subjected to a variety of unhealthy eating behaviors on a regular basis. They include missing breakfast, eating late at night, drinking minimal water, eating a significant amount of food, and eating while engaged in physical activity. Studies have shown that skipping breakfast has a negative impact on academic performance (Clarke University, 2006). Late-night eating occurs when students eat late because they are hungry or because they have had a particularly stressful day. Students rarely, if ever, drink water. Water is good for the body, but students tend to consume little or no water in favor of soda, soft drinks, or any other sugary beverage. It is recommended that students bring a water bottle to class (Clarke University, 2006). Students consume excessive amounts of food when they are hungry or because the food is particularly tasty and they don’t enjoy the following meal. The most crucial meal of the day is breakfast. It motivates us to get ready for the work ahead of us. Breakfast provides us with energy and encourages us to be active. As a result, when students miss breakfast because they are rushing late for class, it simply implies that they will not be active in class for the entire day. It would cause students to fall asleep in class and not participate at all. Students that eat late at night before going to bed do so because they have had a long stressful day of classes, sports, and other activities. They get fatigued and hungry, prompting them to consume food. This has an impact on their sleep. Because your body will be busy digesting food if you eat too close to bedtime, you will have trouble sleeping. Students eat big amounts of food to help them get through the next activity or to avoid eating the following meal. This is a bad eating habit for students since consuming too much food leaves them fatigued and unable to accomplish what they set out to do. Students who are fatigued are unable to participate in class and, as a result, achieve little intellectually. Also, when it comes to eating during activities, students have a lot of them every day, and the only way to get through them is to eat their way through them. They eat in secret throughout class, in their free time, while reading, and even during sports. Excessive eating reduces pupils’ attentiveness in those activities.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Due to the length of their classes, the majority of kids in our secondary schools today are unable to eat healthily. They don’t have time to prepare a good supper, so they eat whatever food they can find, whether it’s snacks or fatty foods, to get them through the day.
They may see the teacher as dull as a result of this, but they are unaware that when they become weary or bored, it is likely that the food they have consumed is causing them to become sleepy, lose interest in the lesson, and so negatively impacting their academic performance.
As a result, the study’s goal is to determine how their eating habits and nutrition affect their academic performance.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to see how eating habits affect secondary school students in the Ikenne Local Government Area’s academic performance. Its specific goals are to:
Examine the impact of eating habits on secondary school students’ academic performance in the Ikenne Local Government Area.
Examine whether gender influences the impact of eating habits on secondary school students’ academic performance in the Ikenne Local Government Area.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Will eating habits have a substantial impact on secondary school pupils’ academic achievement in the Ikenne Local Government Area?
Will gender have a substantial impact on the impact of eating habits on secondary school pupils’ academic achievement in the Ikenne Local Government Area?
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
The following hypotheses would be used to guide the research:
In the Ikenne Local Government Area, eating habits will have no substantial impact on secondary school pupils’ academic achievement.
Gender will have little effect on the impact of eating habits on secondary school pupils’ academic achievement in the Ikenne Local Government Area.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The focus of this research is on the impact of secondary school students’ eating habits in the Ikenne Local Government Area. The study’s main goal is to see how eating habits affect secondary school students’ academic performance in the Ikenne Local Government Area. This research is significant because it will emphasize the importance and impact of eating habits on secondary school students.
Students will benefit from this research because it will educate them on the critical importance of their eating habits to their academic performance in school and will also help them understand that what they eat affects how they study.
Teachers will benefit from this research because it will help them understand that
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study will involve SS2 and SS3 students in selected secondary schools in Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun state, and will focus on the impact of eating habits on academic performance among secondary school students in Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun state.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following variables are operationally defined to act as a guide in comprehending them throughout this study:
Eating Habit: This is the way a person eats, in terms of what kinds of foods they consume, how much they eat, and when they eat them.
Academic performance refers to a student’s ability to meet short- and long-term educational objectives. It’s also what a pupil learned in school, whether it was excellent, poor, or indifferent. The final grade received in the course is used to calculate it. It is determined by the student’s past semester CGPA/GPA and the current semester’s projected GPA. The grade point average (GPA) is a more accurate measure of academic achievement.
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