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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

There is nothing more important than our good health (Specter, 2010). And we need

to start the day with the right and nutritious meal. Whether young or old, nutrition still occupies

the greatest contribution in making oneself be physically and mentally fine. And it lies within

the hands of a particular person. Younger children should start to practice eating enough and

nutritious foods in order to bear it until they get older. So are the students. Students must

prepare themselves to the tough day heading to them in order for them to cope up with

everything. And for that to happen, proper and healthy eating lifestyle should be the first

priority. And nowadays there is a lot of eating habit and patterns by the students that may seem

to affect their academic performance.

Our nutrition has a role with affecting our cognitive functioning. Good nutrition can

stabilize the ability of an individual to perform well in academics. Unlike to those people who

have engaged to junk foods and other unhealthy foods, they can perform but not in a good

manner. People who are into junk foods may experience difficulties in thinking and performing

in academic matters.

Education and health play a significant role in the development of a country. The

country is always propelled and supported by individuals who are gifted with intellectual,

physical and social capacities. People, therefore, are of paramount importance in this newly

industrialized country. In today’s generation, most of the students have their own way of eating

that may lead into different outcomes. This eating habit has the power to change everything
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about a particular person especially his or her performance in school. Most people believe that

there is a relationship between the nutrition and the ability of a child to perform in class and in

order to perform well, having a good nutrition is necessary. There is a correlation between

nutrition and cognition as well as psychosocial behavior; this relationship has been highly

under-researched, but there exists many studies that look at the nutritional benefits of many

proteins, vitamins and food substance as they affect learning and brain function. Proper

nutrition is critical to maximizing brain function and enhancing learning. Helping children

develop healthful habits from a young age will aid them in reaching their optimal potential.

Eating habits can be seen as the way a person eats, considered in terms of what

types of food are eaten, in what quantity and when. We, therefore, can say that poor eating

habit can be seen as the ways on how people eat, the food they eat and when they eat which

affects their health negatively. Academic performance can be seen as a problem when students

are not able to reach the short-term or long-term goals in their education. When students do not

perform well in school, it can be seen to be that the students did not study hard for the

examination or test and it can also be caused by poor concentration in school, poor memory,

poor ability to follow through topics and also poor coordination in class. Poor academic

performance by Aremu (2010),“A performance that is adjudged by the examiner or tester and

significant others as falling below expected standard”.

Nutrition is not appreciated as an important role by people, mainly students as they

don’t give importance to their nutrition, they don’t pay much attention to what they eat.

According to Jump IN for Healthy Kids (2016), “A mountain of research suggests that healthy
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nutrition radically improves children’s cognitive function and measurable academic

achievement.” Students don’t give importance in their health regarding their academic

performance because students rather focus on their academics than their health.

Background of the Study

Lack of focus in the class discussion is one of many difficulties students face on

everyday occurrence in school. With that, difficulty to comprehend the lessons and academic

achievement will become a problem. These problems may reason to poor eating habits and lack

of nutrition by students. Academic skill is measured through continual assessments and

examinations. Academic performance can be seen as a complication to students which aren’t

able to reach target goals in their education. When students didn’t come up to perform well in

school, it is noticed that pupils did not study well for a certain tests or exams and also the ability

to comprehend through subjects are low.

Academic performance alludes to the students’ ability to achieve different kinds of

goals in the field of their education. It can be a short or long term and success or failure.

According to Aremu (2010), “Academic performance is a performance that is adjudged by the

examiner or tester and significant others as falling below expected standard”. In terms of senior

high school students, poor academic performance is seen both in external or internal base on

YouareMom (2016) article. External pertains on the school environment, social interaction,

teachers and teaching techniques. While internal may include problems at home and as well as

children’s emotional state and community.

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Eating habits has a lot of variants depending on the way a student eats and

sometimes also controlled by a person’s mood. Poor eating practice bears with skipping

breakfast, late night eating, drinking low amount of water, over eating during activities. For

skipping of breakfast, studies show that skipping breakfast detracts from scholastic achievement

(Clarke University 2009). Late night eating is when deciding to eat before heading to sleep at

night because of simply getting hungry and had a long and stressful day.

It is in this premise that learning will not take place with an empty stomach. In other

words, poor health condition greatly affects the academic performance of the pupils. As cited

in the study of Schmunck (2010), malnutrition has significant and enduring effects on the

neurological development and behavioral capacity of children. Children who do not eat a

balanced diet, even for a short time, can develop problems with their physical, emotional, and

cognitive development. A research according to The Hunger Site (2015) indicates that even

mild malnutrition experienced by children during critical periods of growth can impair their

behavior and school performance.

Statement of the Problem

1) What is the profile of the Senior High School students in OLOPSC on eating habits as

to:

a) Frequency of food intake

b) Amount of food intake

c) Variety of food intake

2) What is the Academic Performance OLOPSC SHS students?

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3) Is there a significant relationship between Eating Habit and Academic Performance of

OLOPSC SHS students?

Null Hypothesis

There is no significant relationship between eating habits and academic

performance of OLOPSC SHS students.

Significance of the Study

The result of this study would be beneficial to the following:

To the Students. They should know that their chosen eating habit would affect their

ability to perform in class. This is alarming for them and may lead in having a good choice

of nutrition.

To the Parents. They should support their child in another way by cooking or buying

foods that can help their child become better physically and mentally.

To the Future Researchers. The ideas presented may be used as reference in conducting

new researchers. This study will serve as their cross-reference that will gave them an

overview to other researches related in this study.

Scope and Delimitation

This research work which is focused on the relationship between a certain eating

habits to the academic performance .This study found out that having a chosen eating habits
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would affect one’s ability to perform in school. Senior High School students of OLOPSC are

known in having different eating habits that can influence the way they perform in thinking

critically and academically. And this study will cover Senior High School Students in OLOPSC

Marikina City.

Definition of Terms

Nutrition – Nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and

other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth,

reproduction, health, and disease of an organism. It includes food

intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism and

excretion (Shiel, 2017).

Academic Performance – Academic performance is measured by the final grade

earned in the course. (Young,2017)

Eating Habits – The term eating habits or food habits refers to why and how

people eat, which foods they eat as well as the ways people

obtain, store, use, and discard food. Individual, social, cultural,

religious, economic, environmental, and political factors all

influence people’s eating habits. (Meyer, PhD, 2016)

Correlation – The relationship among two variables. It may be positive, negative,

or no correlation at all. (Arikunto, 2009)

Health – Refers to a state of complete emotional and physical well – being. It

can be defined as physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and as a

resource for living a full life. (Stoppler,MD, 2018)

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Variants – One of two or more variables or thing exhibiting usually slight

differences. Also the one that exhibits variation from a type. (Hayes,

2019)
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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the related literature and studies within the country and

abroad that the implications of the current strive for information and those that have given

the proponents some valuable insights for the purpose of the study. After the thorough and

in-depth search done by the researchers, these readings and findings were use as reference in

analyzing and interpreting results and justifying the conclusion and recommendation of the

present study being conducted.

New Interpretation of Old Material or Combine New with Old Interpretations about

the Relationship of Eating Habits and Academic Performance

In the first thesis titled “Effects of Student Nutrition on Academic Performance by

Anna Malki (2018),it states that this research looks as the influence student nutrition has on

academic performance. More specifically, how food insecurity, and school food

consumption impacts grade point average. The researchers gather their data from surveys

and an online student database. In the second thesis titled “Impact of poor nutrition on the

academic performance of grade seven learners: A case of Zimbabwe” (Chinyoka, 2014).The

thesis examined the impact of poor nutrition on the academic performance of grade seven

learners at two primary schools in Chivi, Zimbabwe. Its main objective is to identify

mitigation policies and measures designed to reduce negative effects of poor nutrition on

children’s academic performance. This thesis is more focused on a child’s academic

performance rather than the majority of students, it is also focused on poor nutrition rather
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than a specific diet that a student may follow. The third thesis titled “Associations between

Dietary Intake and Academic Achievement in College Students: a Systematic Review” by

Burrows, Whatnall, Patterson, & Hutchesson (2017) states that there is an association

between a college students dietary intake and their academic achievements. The study is

more focused on college students and they also cite different references that states that a

student’s dietary intake can affect their academic achievements, like only eating food that is

considered bad for you will considerably affect your grades than say a person who knows

how to balance what they eat so that they aren’t low on certain vitamins or minerals.

Major Debates about Eating Habits and Academic Performance

According to the article entitled “Good nutrition strongly linked to education:

Study” by Caroline Scott – Thomas (2009) concluded that better-educated people tend to

spend more money on each calorie, but also choose more nutrient-rich foods. And stated that

“highly educated respondents reported higher quality and therefore more costly diets. But

the link of food with raised cholesterol levels have a risk factors for cardiovascular disease.”

However, an article in 2017 entitled “How the quality of school lunch affects students’

academic performance?” was conducted. It says that there were a debate that occurred after

the former president of America Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

In 2010. It discussed whether proving more nutritious school lunch could improve a students’

learning. And found out that test scores increases about 40percent larger for students who eat

free school lunches provided by the researchers. “Children who are hungry are not able to

focus, so they have a low attention span, behavioral issues, and discipline issues in the
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school” said by SibylleKranz. The study conducted in 2017 was about how can eating healthy

foods can changes the grades of students while the study in 2009 was about how the student

who invest big for good quality of food affect their academics which is not likely to be

recommended for everyone. On the other hand, an article by Laura Hoxwort (2018) entitled

“Exploring the connections between nutrition and learning.” It says that they adopt the

breakfast after the bell and allow kids to take meals to or near in the classroom; and by doing

this they were able to observe the changes between the behavior and discipline of the

children. Researchers say to address a growing trend of childhood obesity, improving the

nutritional benefits of the food children eat at school has the potential for a range of other

health benefits. “It’s improving diet quality and thereby improving both learning outcomes

and health” Kranz said. And lastly, in the year 2019, the article by Andrew OthukeAkpeli

mentioned that “educators and health professionals have long believed that nutrition and

physical activity affect the learning ability of children.” Although the study also said that

there has been a lack of empirical evidence to support the notion held by most health and

education professionals. In this study they also found out what could be the influence of poor

nutrition to academic performance unlike the study before they find that how the academics

can be improved by eating healthy. This study also achieved to improve the previous studies

that was conducted what is the relationship of nutrition and academics of an individual by

giving out an extra information like “brain chemistry can change as a result of lack of a single

nutrients” which gives the reader the awareness of how important each vitamins are. Also,

the researchers tried to impose a restricted diet consist of chosen food by the researchers and

found out that certain food improves child’s behavior and education.
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Relevant Researches about the Correlation of Eating Habits and Academic

Performance

According to Ramey (2016), “This study breaks new ground in demonstrating the

emergence of the relationship between education and health.” It states that nutrition and

academic performance have the connection. Without the proper eating habit, the students are

not able to execute well on their academics. Having a good eating habits can help the students

to be more active in their participation in their respective class. In connection with the study

conducted by Wood (2011), “Nutrition has a role with affecting our cognitive functioning."

Studies have been done with school-aged children and point to a direct correlation between

poor nutrition and lowered school performance. This study explains that the nutrition of a

person can affect the way they think intellectually. On the other hand, Lahey and Rosen

(2010) furthered the research that nutrition affects learning and behavior and suggested that

diet can influence cognition and behavior in many ways which include the condition of not

enough nutrition or the condition of the lack of certain nutrients. About one-third of children

who completed a food-habit questionnaire had inadequate fruit and vegetable intake. These

students also showed poor school performance as compared to those students who had an

adequate intake of fruits and vegetables (Lahey& Rosen, 2010). As cited in the study of

Schmunck (2010), malnutrition has significant and enduring effects on the neurological

development and behavioral capacity of children. Children who consume insufficient,

excessive, or imbalanced quantities of nutrients are more likely to struggle in an academic

setting. They are at an educational disadvantage which compounds through the years of

childhood and adolescence and can conceivably cause children to have lower levels of
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aspiration, accomplishment, and even intelligence. Nutrition also indirectly impacts school

performance. Poor nutrition can leave students’ susceptible to illness or lead to headaches

and stomachaches, resulting in school absences (Brown, Beardslee, &Prothrow-Stith, 2010).

However, this study explains that having a poor eating habits can lead to high rates of

absences that a student may commit because of sickness and other deficiencies.

Gap Exists in the Past and Present Researches about Eating Habits and Academic

Performance

According to Taras (2009) "If there was a nutrient deficiency, there was a negative

impact on that student’s academic performance." This study was done with medical research

that showed if there was a nutrient deficiency there was a negative impact on that student’s

academic performance. The study of Taras (2009) is related to the study of Brown (2010)

“Studies have found that access to nutrition, particularly breakfast, can enhance a student’s

psychosocial well-being, reduce aggression and school suspensions, and decrease discipline

problems”. If a student has a good nutrition intake, it can not only enhance their discipline

but also their academic performance and can reduce their high risk of doing inappropriate

actions in school. while the study of Gómez-Pinilla (2011) “Studies also suggest that diets

high in trans and saturated fats can negatively impact the brain, influencing learning and

memory”, it suggest that having imbalance diet and full of fat intake can risk the factor to

have the urge to learn and a clear memory. According to Nabarro (2012) “Children who do

not consume adequate amounts of key nutrients, including calcium, potassium and vitamin

C may be unable to work to their full potential at school”. The study of Nabarro (2012) can
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be related to Brown, Beardslee, &Prothrow-Stith (2011), Nutrition also indirectly impacts

school performance. Poor nutrition can leave students’ susceptible to illness or lead to

headaches and stomachaches, resulting in school absences”, having a bad nutrition it may

affect badly on the students. If a student don’t take proper nutrition, it can cause them

sickness and won’t properly participate in any activities in school and also their academics.

According to Alexandra (2013) "Nutrition are components of food that are needed by the

body in adequate amount, in order to grow, reproduce and live a normal healthy life”.

Adequate, optimum and good nutrition are used to indicate that the supply of the essential

nutrition is correct in amount and proportion. It also implies the utilization of these nutrients

in the body such that the highest level of physical and mental health is maintained throughout

the individual life span. According to (Rosen, 2010) "Lack of vitamins, minerals, protein,

calories, fat and water can make your immune system weaker". Poor nutrition makes your

immune system less able to find and destroy germs. This means people who are malnourished

are more likely to develop poor academic performance.

In conclusion, the study of “The correlation of having a chosen eating habits to the

academic performance of SHS students of OLOPSC SY 2019-2020” will give a certain

relationship between the two variables and will occupy such time to gather information that

will give valid reason and how do these make a connection on the current phenomena. These

literature reviews will help the study gain new knowledge and also help the study be

legitimate.
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In The New Interpretation of Old Material or Combine New with Old

Interpretations about the Relationship of Eating Habits and Academic Performance, it

explained that past literature reviews, eating habits seem to be influential to the students

depending on their surroundings and day-to-day activity pattern. And with the new

interpretations on the study, possible negative effects of poor eating performance are needed

to be reduced in order not to get weak performance in education. So in order to prevent

various academic problems, start from eating a healthy meal that will sustain your entire

body with energy that will use into multiple academic activities throughout the day.

In the Major Debates about Eating Habits and Academic Performance, there is a

study that eating a lot of foods can give you energy. But on the other hand, consuming too

much will give you such health problems. Therefore, eating is needed but needed to be

controlled and be in moderation. Knowing the exact amount of food intake per meal is

important so that the health and body will remain in good shape.

In the Relevant Researches about the Correlation of Eating Habits and Academic

Performance, it discuss about the connection between eating habits and academic

performance. There were effects given by eating habits to the academic performance of the

students. With proper and consistent eating habit, student can have good academic

performance and when eating gives no importance by a student, it will reflect on the

academic performance and student will get weak and not able to accomplish good

performance in school.
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In the Gap Exists in the Past and Present Researches about Eating Habits and

Academic Performance, poor eating habits can consider that the student do not perform

enough inside the class. And to reverse it, healthy eating lifestyle should be practiced in order

to give good performance all throughout the day.

Conceptual Framework

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 The profile of the  Gathering of data  Different eating

respondent through habits

a. Name questionnaires  Academic

b. Level and Section  Selecting random performance of

 Variety of foods SHS students students

 Frequency of eating  Statistical  The correlation of

particular food Treatment and eating habits and

 Students’ recent Analysis academic

grades (report card) performance of

Senior High School

students of Our

Lady of Perpetual

Succor College

Figure 1. The IPO Model of The Correlational Study on Eating Habits and Academic

Performance of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College Senior High School Students
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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the description of the research design selection and

description of the respondents, research instruments, data collection procedures, and

statistical treatments used.

Research Design

Correlational research is a type of non-experimental research method, in which a

researcher measures two variables, understands and assess the statistical relationship

between them with no influence from any extraneous variable. The term "correlation" is

used to refer to an association, connection, or any form of relationship, link or

correspondence. There is no manipulation of the variables in that type of research. Besides,

a correlational research is useful in a wide variety of studies. According to Busk (2010),

“Correlational study is a specific type of descriptive research in which the researcher is

interested in relationships between two or more variables. Researchers collect data for these

variables on a single sample of adequate size.”

According to Arikunto (2009) “The correlation method is used to know the

correlation between the two variables. The degree of correlation between two variables is

classified in the form of correlation coefficient.” This is also supported by Creswell (2012)

opinion that in correlational research design, the researchers use the correlation statistical
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test to describe and measure the degree of relationship between two or more sets of

variables.

The researcher use Correlational Research because it's correlated to the relationship

between two or more non manipulated variable which are eating habits and the academic

performance of the SHS students. And also it become a correlational because there are two

data collection methods that are used to collect information in correlational research. And

also in correlation it allows the researcher to clearly and easily see if there is a relationship

between the variables.

Research Locale

This research is conducted at Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College located at

Marikina City. It is a private, non-sectarian educational institution where it provides

relevant, quality and holistic education for students starting from Pre-school up to College.

It administers activities where students can harness their knowledge, skills, and abilities in

all aspects. OLOPSC aims to develop and empower its learners to be of good character,

academic excellence, highly competitive, responsible stewards of God’s gifts and globally

prepared for the 21st century. OLOPSC also follows the K to 12 Basic Education Program

which is the flagship program of the Department of Education in its desire to offer a

curriculum which is attuned for the 21st century to provide sufficient time for mastery of

concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education,

middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship. Therefore, 2 years in

High School are added which is the Senior High School that covers the last two years of
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the K to 12 curriculum. Each student in Senior High School can choose among three tracks:

Academic; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood; and Sports and Arts. The Academic track

includes three strands: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) a strand

for students who want to take medicine, doctor and engineering courses; Accountancy,

Business, and Management (ABM) a strand for students who want to take accountancy,

entrepreneurship and HRM courses; and Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) a

strand for students who want to take Education, Law & Journalism courses. Moreover,

OLOPSC espouses a set of core values which serves as bases for all behavior in the

organization. It is expected that once these values are shared by all members, a certain

culture will emerge that will contribute to the realization of the school vision. OLOPSC

core values is the S-RICE which are as follows; Spirituality, Responsibility, Integrity,

Caring Culture, and Excellence.

The researchers chose Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College to be their research

locale because they believe that this place will help them cover all the information needed

in the study the researchers are conducting. There are several numbers of students who has

different eating habits that may somehow affect their performance on their academics. Our

Lady of Perpetual Succor College will help the researchers for the betterment of the study

they are conducting.

Participants

The researchers considered the Grade 11 and 12 students in Our Lady of Perpetual

Succor College in getting the response of the participants that will answer the correlation
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of eating habits and academic performances. The researchers will use Simple Random

Sampling in selecting for the sample. This sampling is used to draw representative samples

for the participants. It is unbiased to give representation to a particular group. The number

of students in OLOPSC SY 2019-2020 are 617, and the researchers calculated the mean of

participants and got the mean of 86. Which this number will present as the number of

participants.

In getting the mean of participants of SHS students, Slovin’s formula was used. As

stated below the “n” represent the mean which is 86 participants, “N” as total population

of SHS students in OLOPSC which is 617, and “e” as the percentage of error 10% that is

most likely the researchers will have.

N
𝑛=
1 + 𝑁𝑒 2

Where n is the sample size, N, is the population size and e as the margin of error.

Research Instrument

The research instrument that the researchers will be using is questionnaire. Likert

scale was used in the survey questionnaire to gather the respondents’ eating patterns or

habits. This scale is usually used when the researchers want to know how often the

particular event or activity occurs. Then therefore it is used to determine the frequency of

certain eating pattern that is adapted by the students. In terms of getting necessary

information about the academic performance of a particular SHS respondents, the

researchers will hand in a letter to the principal that contains a permission to get record of

students’ grades and make sure that it will be secure on the researchers’ hands.
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The questionnaire will include first the respondent’s profile which there stated the

respondent’s information including name, level, and section. And lastly the Likert scale

section which will be answered by students by how frequent they eat a various meal.

Data Gathering Procedure

Researchers wrote a letter sending to the Principal’s office asking a permission to

have the copy of students’ data regarding on their grades that will reflect their academic

performance and the collected data will be only used for purpose of research and shall be

a confidential matter between researchers and principal. In order to get the mean of

participants, Slovin’s formula is used. The survey questionnaires will be distributed among

the particular participants of SHS students by using simple random type of sampling

technique.

In the survey, researchers have given an instruction were it stated that the

respondents must answer the survey questionnaire with all honesty so that the outcome of

study will be legitimate and valid enough to represent the study.

Treatment of Data

The questionnaire consists of the frequency of the particular eating habits of Senior

High School students using the Likert scale.

The Pearson correlation coefficient is a statistical formula that measures the

strength between variables and relationships (McCallister, 2013). Also known as Pearson
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R test. When conducting a statistical test between two variables, it is a good idea to conduct

a Pearson correlation coefficient value to determine just how strong that relationship is

between those two variable.

r= N ∑xy - ∑(x)(y)

√[𝑁∑𝑥 2 − ∑( 𝑥 2 )][𝑁∑𝑦 2 − ∑(𝑦 2 )]

Where r refers to the Pearson r correlation coefficient, N as the number of observations,

∑xy is the sum of the products of paired scores, ∑x will be the sum of x scores, ∑y will be

the sum of the y scores, ∑x2 is the sum of squared x scores and ∑y2 is the sum of squared

y scores.
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CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

This chapter presents the findings, analysis and interpretation of data gathered

whose main objective is to find out if there is a significant relationship between the eating

habits and the academic performance of the Senior High School students in Our Lady of

Perpetual Succor College.

Table 1.1. Frequency of food intake

Table 1.1 The Frequency of Food intake of the OLOPSC Senior High School Students

Variety of Alway Very Somet Rarely Never Mean Verbal

foods s Often imes Interpretati

on

a. Fried foods 20 48 14 4 0 3.98 Very Often

b. Fruits 14 33 31 7 1 3.60 Very Often

c. Bread 20 24 34 7 1 3.64 Very Often

d. Rice 61 17 6 2 0 4.59 Always

e. Cereals 3 15 31 29 8 2.72 Sometimes

f. Vegetables 18 30 26 5 7 3.55 Very Often

g. Sea foods 13 20 35 11 7 3.24 Sometimes

h. Junk foods 7 28 29 16 6 3.16 Sometimes

i. Meat foods 38 38 8 2 0 4.30 Always

j. Fast foods 19 30 30 5 2 3.69 Very Often

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TOTAL 3.64 Very Often

INTERPRETATION:
5.00 – 4.01 =5-Always
4.00 – 3.25 =4-Very Often
3.24 – 2.50 = 3-Sometimes
2.49 – 1.75 = 2-Rarely
1.74 – 1.00 =1-Never

According to the table there are different types of frequency of their food intake.

But majority of it is meat and rice which they eat on a daily basis. It shows also that

vegetables is eaten very often but not always, like rice and meat. Most likely, it shows that

vegetable is not being given importance in their food just like meat. And it appears that

rice is the highest which just means that rice is the most important and meat which is the

next highest of all as well. And lastly, the least eaten by the respondents is cereals, wherein

with others, it is mostly eaten during breakfast. according to brown (2008) “Studies have

found that access to nutrition, particularly breakfast, can enhance a student’s psychosocial

well-being, reduce aggression and school suspensions, and decrease discipline problems.”

breakfast is the most important meal in a day, it helps in the development of the child to

work full potential in school.

According to the table there are different types of frequency of their food intake.

But majority of it is meat and rice which they eat on a daily basis. It shows also that

vegetables are eaten very often but not always, like rice and meat. Most likely, it shows

that vegetable is not being given importance in their food just like meat. And it appears

that rice is the highest which means that rice is the most important and meat which is the
 24

next highest of all as well. And lastly, the least eaten by the respondents is cereals, wherein

with others, it is mostly eaten during breakfast.

According to Nabarro (2012) “Children who do not consume adequate amounts of

key nutrients, including Calcium, Potassium and Vitamin C may be unable to work to their

full potential at school”. And also according Alexandra (2002) "Nutrition are components

of food that are needed by the body in adequate amount, in order to grow, reproduce and

live a normal healthy life”. That being said, not enough food that has the key nutrients into

it, would not work full potential on the students and rather would complain about what they

feel with their health.

Table 1.2. Amount of food intake

Table 1.2. The Amount of Food intake of the OLOPSC Senior High School Students

Variety of 5 or 4 meals 3 meals 2 meals 1 Mean Verbal

foods more me Interpret

meals al ation

a. Fried foods 3 4 21 32 26 2.14 2 meals

b. Fruits 7 7 15 19 38 2.14 2 meals

c. Bread 3 4 19 21 39 1.97 1 meal

d. Rice 11 17 39 15 4 3.19 3 meals

e. Cereals 2 4 6 16 58 1.56 1 meal

f. Vegetables 6 12 15 28 25 2.37 2 meals

g. Sea foods 3 4 14 22 43 1.86 2 meals

h. Junk foods 3 6 17 22 38 2.12 2 meals

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i. Meat foods 8 14 34 25 5 2.94 3 meals

j. Fast foods 34 9 13 23 38 3.83 4 meals

TOTAL 2.41 2 meals

INTERPRETATION:
5.00 – 4.01 = 5 or more meals
4.00 – 3.25 = 4 meals
3.24 – 2.50 = 3 meals
2.49 – 1.75 = 2 meals
1.74 – 1.00 = 1 meal

Table 1.2 shows the profile of senior high school students in OLOPSC on eating

habits as to the amount of food intake. It can be seen that Fast food is the most eaten food

in a single day with 34 respondents choosing the 5 or more meals, making it the majority,

in the 4 and 3 meals options, rice is the most eaten with 17 and 39 respondents choosing

this respectively, In the 2 meals option fried food is the most eaten and lastly in the 1 meal

category the cereals option is the least eaten with 58 respondents only eating cereals once.

According to the gathered data, table 1.2 shows that students eat 5 or more meals

of fast food, depending on which restaurant they are eating from and what they usually eat

it may prove difficult to know its effects on them. An article from McNeil(2007)

interviewed students and teacher about why students eat fast foods, some students claim

that it’s easier to eat since they have a busy schedule and need food that is quick to make,

some students also like fast food because of the taste. And the most consistently eaten by

the students and Filipinos, in general, is rice which most eats this in combination with our

breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And lastly, the least eaten food is the cereal category with 58

respondents, presumably, it's only eaten in breakfast because it is traditional breakfast food
 26

in other countries, but here in the Philippines, a majority of the citizen eat “silog” meals

and “pandesal” etc courtesy of the article by Corina (2019).

Table 1.3. Variety of Food Intake

Table 1.3. The Variety of food intake of the OLOPSC Senior High School Students

Variety of foods Total Percentage

a. Fried foods 58 67.44%

b. Fruits 50 58.14%

c. Bread 43 50%

d. Rice 67 77.91%

e. Cereals 19 22.09%

f. Vegetables 47 54.65%

g. Sea foods 30 34.88%

h. Junk foods 31 36.05%

i. Meat foods 70 81.40%

j. Fast foods 51 59.30%

Table 1.3 shows the Profile of the Senior High School students in OLOPSC on

eating habits as to the variety of food intake. Out of 86 respondents of senior high school

students, 70 of them are eating meat foods which equivalent to 81.40%, 67 of them are

eating rice which equivalent to 77.91%, 58 of them are eating fried foods which equivalent

to 67.44%, 51 of them are eating fast foods which equivalent to 59.30%, 50 of them are

eating fruits which equivalent to 58.14%, 47 of them are eating vegetables which
 27

equivalent to 54.65%, 43 of them are eating bread which equivalent to 50%, 31 of them

are eating junk foods which equivalent to 36.05%, 30 of them are eating sea foods which

equivalent to 34.88%,and 19 of them are eating cereals which equivalent to 22.09%.

According to the data gathered, table 1.3 shows that most of the students usually

eat meat foods more often because meat foods is the usual dish for the Filipino and

according to Hartline-Gratfton, Henchy, & Levin (2012) “Schools must offer a meat/meat

alternative, reduce sodium, limit saturated fat, and introduce standards for caloric intake

for various age ranges.” Second is rice because here in Philippines, rice is the most stable

food and most prominent, and the usual food that Filipinos eat. And rice is rich in

carbohydrates which helps to provide energy one’s body. And the lowest food eaten by the

students is cereal because it is the least type of food that students eat. Based on the data

collected, the food that was selected the most was meat and rice. Because it is the most

available food option that students can choose around them.

According to Michalczyk (2009) “It is essential to ensure a balanced and adequate

intake of nutritional food. Daily nutrients that are needed by our body are nutrients that

required for healthy body function and cannot be manufactured by the human body.”

Therefore the students need to eat foods that rich in nutrients because it helps the body to

function properly.

Table 2.1. Academic Performance of Senior High School Students

 28

Table 2.1. The Academic Performance of Senior High School Students in Midterm

Average No. of Respondents Mean

90-100 29 91.92%

85-89 40 87.54%

80-84 14 83.19%

75-79 3 78.22%

Total: 86 87.89%

The academic performance of senior high school students are measured on the total

average grade on the randomly selected respondents. And on the table above have shown

that the total average grade of the selected students is 87.89%.

Based on the previous report card of OLOPSC (2019), average grade ranging from

85-89% is a Very Satisfactory grade. This means that the grade shown above still attains

good academic performance. It is expected that every senior high school student can cope

up to every academic works or tasks given by their teachers. The students have the ability

to get right grades and do well inside the campus. And, getting the result of 87.89% as an

average grade serves as a passing grade of the general senior high school students.
 29

Table 3.1. Relationship between students’ Eating Habits and Academic

Performance

Table 3.1. The relationship between students’ eating habits and academic performance

Correlation of Eating Habits and Academic Performance

Grades Habits

Grades Pearson Correlation 1 -.226*

Sig. (2-tailed) .037

N 86 86

Habits Pearson Correlation -.226* 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .037

N 86 86

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Descriptive Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

Grades 87.9873 3.79555 86

Habits 2.9203 .44301 86

In the table 3 it shows the representation of correlation between eating habits and

academic performance. Two-tailed test was used in order to determine both positive and

negative effect of it. The “N” in the table represent its population or the respondents of the

study which is 86 respondents. Table 3 indicates that the there was a weak negative
 30

relationship between eating habits and academic performance of the Senior High School

students in OLOPSC where r= -0.226, which indicates that as one variable increases

another variable decreases. It also showed that there is a significance between the two

variables where p= 0.037 which less that the p-value of 0.05. The null hypothesis was

therefore rejected.

The result of the data in Table 3 support the statement of Andrew

OthukeAkpeli(2019) “Educators and health professionals have long believed that nutrition

and physical activity affect the learning ability of children.” Which the p-value of the table

indicated that there is a significance between the eating habits and the academic

performance of the SHS students. And as stated in the Table 1.1, Rice which are rich in

carbohydrates are second majority of variety of food that the respondents frequently intake;

Chenoweth, in the Blog of “Healthy food choices in schools”, 2019 stated that amino acids

and carbohydrate supplementation can improve perception, intuition, and reasoning. By

this, researchers concluded that carbohydrates can enhance one’s performance because

majority of the respondents intake carbohydrates often and the mean of their academic

performance is resulted to 87.89% which is a Very Satisfactory grade according to the

report card of OLOPSC.

On the other hand, Table 1.2 showed an interesting result showing that respondents

are having a good nutrition. We are expected to have a meals of at least 3 times a day, and

rice are being eaten 3 meals a day by the respondents and the rest of the variety are about

2 meals. It can be concluded as respondents are not malnourished and they are being eaten
 31

equally and will be considered as a good result, because children who consume insufficient,

excessive, or imbalanced quantities of nutrients are more likely to struggle in academic

setting (Schmunck, 2010)

Nabarro (2012) “Children who do not consume adequate amounts of key nutrients,

including Calcium, Potassium and Vitamin C may be unable to work to their full potential

at school”. In the Table 1.3 it is clearly presented that not just only one variety of food are

outrageously being intake by the respondents but many of them are almost being eaten

balance which are meat, rice, fast foods, fruits, and vegetables. There may be an unhealthy

food that we assumed to be but the study of Nabarro(2012) did not only stated one kind of

nutrients that we must have, which means not only one variety of food can suffice the

nutrients we need.

Healthy eating is essential for students to achieve their full academic potential,

mental growth, and lifelong health and well-being (Amy Ross, 2010) Therefore, eating

habits are essential for improving one’s performing grade and are related.
 32

CHAPTER V

This chapter presents the summary of finding; the conclusions made and the

recommendations offered.

Summary of Findings

This study was conducted in Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College, Marikina City,

with a total of eighty six respondents of Senior High School students. Correlational

Research was used in this study. The researchers used a Likert Scale questionnaire method

to reveal the relationship of the variables.

The statement of the problem was conducted to determine if there is a significant

relationship between the Eating Habits and the Academic Performance of the senior High

School students in Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College Academic Year 2012-2020.

Through this problem stated, the researchers came up with the null hypothesis: Ho=

There is no significant relationship between the Eating Habits and the Academic

Performance of the Senior High School students in Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College

After administering the questionnaire, the researchers used weighted mean and

percentage to determine the profile of the Senior High students on eating habits as to the

frequency of food intake, amount of food intake and the variety of food intake. The

researchers used the weighted mean and percentage to determine the academic

performance of the Senior High School students. And to test the input and output variables,

Pearson-r were used.

 33

Based on the data provided by the respondents, the researchers found out the

following:

1. The profile of the Senior High School students as to:

a) The frequency of the respondents’ food intake has different types. Majority of

the most intake foods are meat and rice, while cereals which has the least

intake of food base from the Senior High School students.

b) The amount of the respondents’ food intake comes from fast food and

approximately eaten four meals a day, rice is consistently eaten and cereals as

the least eaten food by the Senior High School students.

c) The variety of food intake of the respondents has different choices. Most of the

students choose meat foods and the least variety of food chosen is cereals.

2. The academic performance of the Senior High School students range in a Very

Satisfactory grade. The Senior High School students attain good performance in their

academics in Midterm.

3. Eating Habits and the Academic Performance of the Senior High School students has a

significant relationship with each other.

Conclusions

Based on the findings, the following are concluded:

1. As the data gathered in terms of frequency of food intake, it shows that the level of

food intake of the students range more on Very Often. The way the students eat is

not often, but not too little, but just the right amount. In terms of amount of food

intake, the range of most of the students eat two (2) meals. So even though the
 34

students only eat two (2) meals a day, they still eat enough on that particular meal

therefore that kind of meal is balanced. In terms of variety of food intake, the

students mainly eat meat and rice. According to De Jesus (2017), “Rice is life. No

self-respecting Pinoy would eat adobo or sinigang without it.” This statement

matches the collected data that says meat and rice are the main foods that the

students eat in a particular meal, and as for the “adobo” and “sinigang”, these dish

can be cooked with meat as the main ingredient.

2. The total average of the academic performance of the Senior High School

students is 87.89%, which means they still manage to have a high academic

performance.

3. Eating habits and Academic performance has a weak negative correlation. There is

a significance of both variables and could also tell that academic performance of

Senior High School students aren’t affected by how they eat, what they eat and also

the amount they eat. Therefore the researchers reject the Null Hypothesis and as a

relevance to the study, students should give more thought on what they should eat

because they would know they can undertake various activities the whole day

without the need of appropriate category, amount and frequency of foods. Any

foods that are available around the students are fine but in a sense that they won’t

be hungry in the midst of studying and learning inside the school.

Recommendation

After gathering the data and completing the analysis, the following

recommendations were drawn from conclusions and significance of the study.

 35

1. For the Students. They should know how to balance their meal in a day so that their

day could be fulfilled with stored energy and could also manage tons of school works.

2. For the Parents. They should help their children develop smart eating habits by

providing them with healthy meals that can enhance their energy, improve their brain

function, memory and concentration.

3. For the Future Researchers. Students that have an interest of discovering new

learnings engaging on foods relating with academic performances should expect the

differences of collected data from time to time. Seeking for the relevance is a must and

giving enough data that could support your stand will help the study be productive and

reliable.

4. Although the respondents got the very satisfactory average with their eating habits

scores, researchers would like to recommend the students to have more amount of

healthy food such as vegetables for their plates to be more equally balanced with lots

of nutrients to make their average even higher enough for them to be an honour

students.

5. Students in OLOPSC should know how to balance their diet. It is okay to eat anything

but in a moderation.
 36

References

(2016, April 7). There is nothing more important than your health – make an

effort that fits you. Retrieved from https://www.upm.com/news-and-

stories/articles/2016/04/there-is-nothing-more-important-than-your-health-

-make-an-effort-that-fits-you/

(2018, June 24). Eating Habit as a Determinant of Academic Performance among

Secondary School Students in Ikenne Local Government Area. Retrieved

from https://behindbrain.com/projects/philosophy/eating-habit-as-a-

determinant-of-academic-performance-among-secondary-school-students-

in-ikenne-local- government-area/

Jump IN Healthy Kids (2016). How does nutrition affect students’ achievement

in school? Retrieved from https://blog.jumpinforhealthykids.org/how-

does- nutrition-affect-student-performance/James.

(2018, March 16). 6 Causes of Poor Academic Performance at School. Retrieved

from https://youaremom.com/parenting/causes-poor-

academiperformanceschool/
 37

Kang, Y. W., & Park, J.-H. (2016, August). Does Skipping Breakfast and Being

Overweight Influence Academic Achievement Among Korean

Adolescents? Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5014751/

Burrows, T. L., Whatnall, M. C., Patterson, A. J., &Hutchesson, M. J. (2017, September

25). Associations between Dietary Intake and Academic Achievement in

College Students: A systematic Review. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746694

Scott-Thomas, C. (2009, May 5). Good nutrition strongly linked to education: Study.

Retrieved from https://www.foodnavigator-

usa.com/Article/2009/05/05/Good-nutrition-strongly-linked-to-education-

Study#

(2019, July 29). The Impact of School Lunch on Student Performance. Retrieved from

https://online.campbellsville.edu/education/healthy-body-healthy-mind-

the-impact-of-school-lunch-on-student-performance/

(2018, January 4). Brain Food: Exploring the Connections Between Nutrition and

Learning. Retrieved from https://news.virginia.edu/content/brain-food-

exploring-connections-between-nutrition-and-learning
 38

Hoxworth, L. (2018, January 5). Exploring the connections between nutrition and learning.

Retrieved from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-exploring-nutrition.html

Gómez-Pinilla, F. (2011, July). Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2805706/

Retrieved from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_research-methods-in-

psychology/s11-02-correlational-research.html

(2019, August 13). How to Calculate Correlation Between Variables in Python. Retrieved

from https://machinelearningmastery.com/how-to-use-correlation-to-understand-

the-relationship-between-variables/

Research Assignments. Retrieved from https://prudencexd.weebly.com/

(2019, August 14). Beginner's Guide: What is a Likert Scale and How to Use It? Retrieved

from https://wpforms.com/beginners-guide-what-is-a-likert-scale-and-how-to-use-

it/

Bobko, P. (2010). Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. Retrieved from

https://www.statisticssolutions.com/pearsons-correlation-coefficient/
 39

APPENDICES
 40

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOR COLLEGE

Gen. Ordonez St., Concepcion Uno, Marikina City
S.Y.2019-2020
Senior High School

Name: (must be stated clearly)

Level and Section: (must be stated clearly)

Introduction: The Likert scale test below that Schmunck used to measure the frequency,
amount, and variety of food intake were modified by the researchers according to the
context in the Philippines to make it more applicable to the respondents. Some items in
the questionnaire were revised to make sure that each statement is applicable to the
respondents. The researchers considered the suggestions of the scholars regarding the
Likert scale that helped in ensuring the questionnaire’s validity and for making it more
specific for the research problem to be answered.

Direction: The following questions need to know the frequency of the different food
intakes.

Please answer with full honesty. Kindly check the label which best describes your
answer.

1. HOW OFTEN DO YOU EAT THE FOLLOWING VARIETY OF FOODS

STATED BELOW? (Check the column that corresponds to your answer.

5 4 3 2 1

Variety of Foods Always Very often Sometimes Rarely Never

a.) Fried food

b.) Fruits

c.) Bread

d.) Rice

e.) Cereals
 41

f.) Vegetables

g.) Sea foods

h.) Junk foods

i.) Meat foods

j.) Fast food

2. HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU EAT THE FOLLOWING VARIETY OF FOODS

IN A DAY? (Check the column that corresponds to your answer)

5 4 3 2 1

Variety of Foods or more meals meals meals meal

meals

a.) Fried food

b.) Fruits

c.) Bread

d.) Rice

e.) Cereals

f.) Vegetables

g.) Sea foods

h.) Junk foods

i.) Meat foods

 42

j.) Fast food

3. WHAT TYPE OF FOOD DO YOU MOST LIKELY EAT? (check all that

applies)

□ Fried food □ Vegetables

□ Fruits □ Sea foods

□ Bread □ Junk foods

□ Rice □ Meat foods

□ Cereal □ Fast foods

 43

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOR COLLEGE

Gen. Ordonez St., Concepcion Uno, Marikina City
S.Y.2019-2020
Senior High School
September 18, 2019
Dear Respondents,
Good day!
We, the researchers from 12 – Ephraim, are conducting a research entitled “The
Correlational Study on Eating Habits and Academic Performance of Our Lady of
Perpetual Succor College Senior High School Students”. For the success in this study,
the respondents must answer the questionnaire truly, honestly, and completely. Your
participation in this study by way of answering the questionnaire is very vital. Without it
the study will not be as complete as it should be. The questionnaire will be retrieved
within the day during dismissal time through the class president.
Also, we would like to inform you on getting your First semester average
Midterm grade from your adviser to be used on our study in correlating the eating habits
and academic performance. Rest assured that data given will be handled with outmost
confidentiality.
Thank you for your participation, we appreciate your time and effort in answering
the questionnaire. If interested, we are proud to offer you a copy of the result of this
study.
Sincerely,
Researchers:
Confessor, Alrel Grecia, Lyka

Armenio, Charlene Salunga, Camille

Borromeo, Hannah Shibuya, Airi

Carpio, Chey

Noted by:

Ms. Ma. Christina F. Urzabia, MAEd

Practical Research 2 Teacher