Health-Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among High School Students — United States, 2015

Abstract

Studies have shown links between educational outcomes such as letter grades, test scores, or other measures of academic achievement, and health-related behaviors (1-4). However, as reported in a 2013 systematic review, many of these studies have used samples that are not nationally representative, and quite a few studies are now at least 2 decades old (1). To update the relevant data, CDC analyzed results from the 2015 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a biennial, cross-sectional, school-based survey measuring health-related behaviors among U.S. students in grades 9-12. Analyses assessed relationships between academic achievement (i.e., self-reported letter grades in school) and 30 health-related behaviors (categorized as dietary behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behaviors, substance use, sexual risk behaviors, violence-related behaviors, and suicide-related behaviors) that contribute to leading causes of morbidity and mortality among adolescents in the United States (5). Logistic regression models controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, and grade in school found that students who earned mostly A's, mostly B's, or mostly C's had statistically significantly higher prevalence estimates for most protective health-related behaviors and significantly lower prevalence estimates for most health-related risk behaviors than did students with mostly D's/F's. These findings highlight the link between health-related behaviors and education outcomes, suggesting that education and public health professionals can find their respective education and health improvement goals to be mutually beneficial. Education and public health professionals might benefit from collaborating to achieve both improved education and health outcomes for youths.