Regresar

Lifestyles and their relation to school ratings: Study in Ecuador

Abstract:

Introduction: In a society that promotes healthy lifestyle habits such as physical activity, nighttime rest, and a healthy diet, the impact it may have on adolescents' grades is interesting, but it is also positive. However, there are other habits of life quite common among adolescents such as alcohol consumption and sedentary lifestyle, whose relationship with academic performance provides a new vision of school failure. Objective: To analyze the relationship between the time spent watching television, smoking and alcohol consumption with school grades of Ecuadorian adolescents. Methods: The present research took as reference the work carried out by Kovacs, del Real, Gestoso, López, Mufraggi, and Palou34. The present study was conducted in schools in the Ecuadorian highlands (54), the total number of participants being 17,302, of which 7,502 are students and 9,800 correspond to the parents and guardians who collaborated. A questionnaire was applied to describe the weekly frequency variables of sports practice, alcohol consumption, tobacco, television, suspended subjects and parents' socioeconomic status. Results: From the multivariate analysis it was obtained that the variables negatively associated with academic performance are tobacco, low socio-economic level, alcohol and watching television more than two hours a day. On the other hand, those that have a positive relationship with academic performance are sporting at the competition level, practicing sports more frequently than two days a week and being female. Conclusions: This study shows that, in Ecuadorian adolescents, drinking, smoking, age, being a man, spending more than two hours a day watching television and belonging to a low socioeconomic group negatively affects academic qualifications. However, being a woman, studying in a private or concerted school and practicing sports has a positive influence.