Advanced Research Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology Vol. 1 (1), pp. 001-009, March, 2014. © Advanced Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Dietary intake, watching television, playing games internet and academic achievement in selected Indonesian Elementary School Children

 Eva Fauziah, Ratu Ayu Dewi Sartika

 Department of Public Health Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia

*Corrresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 12 March, 2014

Abstract

Dietary intake and children's daily habits affect children concentration and academic achievement. Television and internet are kind of media which have positive and negative impacts. The purpose of this study was to determine correlation between dietary intake, watching television, playing game and academic achievement. It was also hypothesized that type of school correlated with children’s academic achievement. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 89 children in the sixth grade at different school types (Islamic, private and public). Subjects from three (3) classes of sixth grade were listed for each school and were collected by a simple random sampling. Academic achievement was derived from four (4) subjects, Mathematics, Indonesian language, Natural and Social sciences for one (1) year. Dietary intake was assessed by means of 24-hour recall. The highest mean score of academic achievement was private (86.41), followed by Islamic (81.46) and public school (77.00). In general, the mean intake of energy, carbohydrate and protein among all students are still below the recommended dietary allowance, particularly in public school. Results from the multivariate analyses showed the most dominant variable associated with academic achievement was playing game after controlled by the types of school, length of watching television, nutritional status, protein intake, snack habit and parent’s educational level. These results suggest that an increasing children’s academic achievement need collaboration between policymakers, educators, parents, and others who work with school children about the impact of games internet and television and implement school meal programs on children particularly public and Islamic school.

 Key words: Dietary intake, television, game internet, academic achievement, children.