Junk food = low grades; nutritious food = high grades

Twelve-year-old Gayatri from a school in Kandivli is a backbencher. Not only are her scores low, but she is also overweight for her age and hence made to sit at the back of the class. She is an introvert and has few friends.

“I am used to people calling me ‘fatso’ and ‘elephant’. Because I am bulky, teachers make me sit on the last bench so that I don’t block anyone’s view,” she says. Gayatri scores less than 60% in her exams.

Nisha from Santa Cruz, on the other hand, is thin and athletic, but she too faces similar issues in class. “I am tired of people asking me to eat more. My mother packs chapattis covered in ghee in my tiffin box. Even then, my tiffin box is the laughing stock of the class,” she says.

A child’s eating habits can make him/her either obese or lanky. This in turn affects his/her learning abilities, say city psychiatrists.

Harish Shetty, senior psychiatrist, says that those who are among the fattest and thinnest in class tend to develop negative feelings, which affect their academic performance and social interaction. “Such children are often bullied by peers. These (negative) feelings need to be addressed in class by the teacher and also at home by parents,” he says.

Child Intelligence and Health, a recent study by Indian Medical Academy, has found that children’s eating habits is one of the factors that affects their academic performance. The study found that among those who scored below 80% in their exams, 64% ate in the school canteen for more than three days. Conducted with 500 parents and 40 paediatricians, it shows that having good eating habits could lead to better grades in school, as the child will not miss school due to sickness.

According to psychologist Seema Hingorany, parents need to keep an eye on what their children are eating in the canteen. “Children’s concentration and memory levels are linked to their food habits. If the school canteen is serving healthy meals, which include clean leafy vegetables, salads and rice, then the child is getting the required nutrition. On the other hand, if he/she is eating vada pav, pav bhaji, samosa and other fatty foods from the canteen, then he/she must be stopped immediately,” she says.

Shetty says that teachers need to maintain emotional equity in class by identifying which child is suffering from self-esteem issues, and subtly address them. “A teacher or parent can motivate the child by praising him/her for small successes, spending a little extra time with him/her, and protecting him/her from being bullied.”

(Students’ names have been changed to protect identities)