Body Weight and Academic Achievement: The Role of Weight Diversity in Urban Middle Schools

Autor/inn/en	Lessard, Leah M.; Juvonen, Jaana
Titel	Body Weight and Academic Achievement: The Role of Weight Diversity in Urban Middle Schools
Quelle	In: School Psychology, 34 (2019) 3, S.253-260 (8 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Lessard, Leah M.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2578-4218
DOI	10.1037/spq0000317
Schlagwörter	Body Weight; Academic Achievement; Middle School Students; Urban Schools; Peer Influence; Correlation; Grade 6; Ethnic Diversity; Student Diversity; Body Composition; Body Height; Grade Point Average; Gender Differences; Obesity; At Risk Students; California + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Körpergewicht; Schulleistung; Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Urban area; Urban areas; School; Schools; Stadtregion; Stadt; Schule; Korrelation; School year 06; 6. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 06; Körpergröße; Geschlechterkonflikt; Adipositas; Kalifornien
Abstract	The current study was designed to examine one possible weight stigma-reduction mechanism: school-level weight diversity. It was hypothesized that greater weight diversity among same-sex peers at school would attenuate the negative association between weight and academic achievement. Across 26 urban public middle schools, 5,991 sixth-grade students (52% girls) were included: 12% African American/Black, 14% East/Southeast Asian, 30% Latino, 21% White, and 23% from other specific ethnic groups. Weight diversity was estimated as the likelihood that two randomly selected students would be from different weight categories, using Simpson's index. Standardized achievement test scores and grade point average (GPA) were used to assess academic achievement. Consistent with our contextual moderator hypothesis, high levels of weight diversity at school served a protective function. The negative association between body mass index (BMI) and achievement test scores, as well as GPA (girls only) was nonsignificant at schools with high levels of weight diversity. The study results offer a potential explanation for inconsistent findings regarding body weight and achievement, and a novel methodological approach to capture weight diversity in ways that provide new insights for school-based interventions. Impact and Implications: The study results suggest that while overweight may be an academic risk factor in schools with little weight heterogeneity among students, weight-based achievement disparities appear to be minimized in middle schools with greater exposure to diverse body shapes and sizes. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01