Do health and education agencies in the United States share responsibility for academic achievement and health? A review of 25 years of evidence about the relationship of adolescents' academic achievement and health behaviors.

PURPOSE: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors health-risk behaviors of adolescents in United States, which include (1) violence; (2) tobacco use; (3) alcohol and other drug use; (4) sexual behaviors contributing to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; (5) inadequate physical activity; and (6) unhealthy dietary behaviors. We reviewed original research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1985 and 2010 to synthesize evidence about the association of adolescent health-risk behaviors and academic achievement. METHODS: Using predetermined selection criteria, 122 articles were included that used at least one variable for health-risk behaviors and also for academic achievement. RESULTS: For all six health-risk behaviors, 96.6% of the studies reported statistically significant inverse relationships between health-risk behaviors and academic achievement. CONCLUSIONS: With this persuasive evidence about the interrelationship of health-risk behaviors and academic achievement, it is imperative that leaders in education and health act together to make wise investments in our nation's school-age youth that will benefit the entire population. A unified system that addresses both health behavior and academic achievement would have reciprocal and synergistic effects on the health and academic achievement not only of children and adolescents, but also of adults in the United States.

A correlational study of the relationship between a coordinated school health program and school achievement: a case for school health.

The study was conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between the Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) and student academic performance. Data were collected from schools and the community for three reports for 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC). The School Health Policies and Programs Survey (SHPPS), the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and the U.S. Census 2000 Profile were used to study the relationships among three parameters: (a) The intervention called a CSHP: (b) Student achievement; and (c) Rate of poverty in each state. A stepwise regression analysis was conducted, controlling for poverty using state-level data. Components of a CSHP had statistically significant relationships with academic achievement. Students in states with policies promoting students' health demonstrated higher academic scores and higher rates of high school completion.