Bryan May

BIOL 4500-01

Karpel

October 28, 2016

Paper 2: How does diet affect academic performance?

The United States ranks somewhere between 10th and 20th in quality of education compared to other countries depending on which source you look at. The future of America is dependent on our education because that is one of our major exports. Our technology and skills are something that nobody has been able to compete with on the world level, so while other countries have been exporting tangible products to the United States, we have been exporting technology to them. Take this away and from an economic standpoint, we will see a decrease in demand as the rest of the world can supply a better product in this area. As we researched heavily in our last study in diabetes, the American diet has gone downhill drastically since the 1970’s with fast food intake jumping from $6 billion in 1970 to almost $200 billion in 2013 (2013). One contributing factor to overall health is our gastrointestinal microbiome. The human body is carrying about 10 microorganisms for every one of its own cells. All of these microorganisms coat people’s skin and intestinal walls and prevent other harmful pathogens from residing in humans (O’Hara & Shanahan, 2006). I believe that one of the main factors contributing to our education is diet so throughout this paper I will attempt to show that a change in diet will improve our overall education as a society.

To begin, we need to define what we are talking about when we say education. A well rounded person in the way of education could be composed of grade point average (GPA), test scores, and many other skills needed in everyday life, but in the real world there are social and physical aspects to consider as well, but for the sake of ease we will stick to the educational components. With this being said, when reading this paper, realize that there are more aspects to education than what I give in this paper. To begin, researchers have done studies to determine what different levels of fat intake do to memory. In one such study, researchers gathered information regarding body mass index (BMI), test scores, and GPA, as well as age appropriate assessments measuring competence in mathematics, and vocabulary in students ranging from eighth grade to university-level education. The researchers found that obese students perform similarly to the non-obese students in test scores, but have lower grades at all levels (MacCann & Roberts, 2013). In another study, researchers gave mice different diets, then allowed them to work their way through a maze to test their spatial memory. These researchers found that the mice receiving a diet higher in fat had an increase in memory and larger hippocampal volumes relative to the mice with diets lower in fat (Xu et al., 2015). In my research I found numerous studies on how diets affect the microbiome and the microbiome in turn has also been shown to lead to obesity (Graham, Mullen & Whelan, 2015). In another study, researchers found a link between diet and nutrient sensing. Those with a high fat diet were impaired in their ability to detect cmNTS nutrients and had decreased meal size control. When we combine these two studies, we can find a clear correlation between the gut and the brain. Not only will the microbiome change in response to diet thus affecting absorption, but the brain’s signal input is affected as well. Therefore, by consuming a more nutritious diet, you are directly providing more nutrients for your body to absorb. This is important because the brain needs a lot of resources. It absorbs about a third of the total glucose consumption and many vitamins and minerals to maintain a high level of performance. If our diets aren’t providing these necessary resources, then we can expect to see a drop in academic performance as a country.

Another effect the microbiome has on education is that of mental health. In a study by Brogan, it suggested that your gut microbiota may contribute to mental health. The study was done by examining those who were recently diagnosed or who contracted a disease of the gut. Sometimes mood is altered in a way that isn’t connected with normal diagnoses. The current thinking is that some of the inflammatory response will send signals that trigger an emotional/mental response. In this way, the gut and the brain are tied together in the health of both. They have also found that fecal transplants used to alter the microbiome of the gut will also lead to an improvement of mental health as well (2015). In another study, researchers looked at the brain morphology of a group of people with Crohn's Disease. They took magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) scans of a group of individuals afflicted with the disease and found there to be a correlation in brain morphology. Most of these articles suggested a possible link between the inflammatory response and mental health. All of these diseases of the gastrointestinal tract cause a certain inflammatory response that is thought to be the culprit of these mental disorders (Thomann et al, 2016). These mental disorders may directly contribute to falling academic performance as a result of depression. These results may include: lack of interest, poor school performance, and withdrawal. The list of effects goes on and on and have even shown a link between Autism Spectrum Disorders and the gut. The question that has yet to be answered in the study about Autism Spectrum Disorders is whether they are part of a patient’s physiology or if it is caused by gut microbes (Santocchi et al., 2016). In either case, there is a change in mental capabilities that is connected with the gastrointestinal tract.

In conclusion, there is a strong correlation between brain function and the health of the digestive system. Test scores, GPA, brain morphology, mental health such as depression and anxiety and even Autism Spectrum Disorders have been shown to be linked with nutritionally poor and/or high fat diets. The United States continues to spend more and more on fast food, but if we are to compete internationally with education, we need to make changes and according to this research, diet is a great place to start.

References

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Gazdzinski, S. P. (2015). Does long-term high fat diet always lead to smaller hippocampi volumes, metabolite concentrations, and worse learning and memory? A magnetic resonance and behavioral study in Wistar rats. Plos ONE, 10(10),

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MacCann, C., & Roberts, R. D. (2013). Just as smart but not as successful: obese students obtain lower school grades but equivalent test scores to nonobese students. International Journal Of Obesity, 37(1), 40-46.

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