Metabolic health and academic achievement in youth at risk for high school dropout in rural Mississippi: The role of classroom management

Disparities in health and academic achievement affect large cross-sections of the same population subgroups. This study examined the relationship metabolic health and academic achievement in youth “at risk” for school dropout in rural Mississippi. Fifteen adolescents participated in a studio based learning educational summer camp and subsequent follow-up sessions during the regular school year that were aimed at developing knowledge of core curriculum subjects by developing design projects based on the camp STEM-related theme. These projects are characteristic of a pedagogical technique known as Studio Based Learning (SBL) and involve more movement than a traditional classroom setting. Participants' metabolic health was assessed via measurements of blood lipids and glucose, blood pressure, BMI and waist circumference, and examined individually and as a combined risk score. Academic achievement measurements were obtained from district standardized testing. Mean BMI for this sample was classified as overweight; however, other metabolic parameters (blood lipids and glucose, and resting blood pressure) were in normal ranges for this age group. Little association was found between metabolic health and academic achievement and in this sample for math of language (r = −0.56 and 0.20, respectively). Participants took part in notable amounts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during the SBL camp and very little in the traditional classroom setting (approximately 30 vs. 7 min/day, respectively). Actively engaging teaching strategies, such as SBL, may impart a meaningful impact on physical activity levels of school-aged children, which may have long term, positive health outcomes.