Health Behaviors and Academic Performance Among Korean Adolescents

Purpose This study aimed to examine the most prominent health-related behaviors impacting the academic performance of Korean adolescents. Methods The 2012 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey data were analyzed using an ordinal regression analysis after adjusting for general and other health behaviors. Results Before adjustment, all health behaviors were significantly associated with academic performance. After adjustment for other health behaviors and confounding factors, only smoking [odds ratio (OR) = 2.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.98, 2.16), p < .001], alcohol consumption [OR = 1.22, 95% CI (1.18, 1.27), p < .001], and physical activity [OR = 1.09, 95% CI (1.06, 1.13), p < .001] were associated with lower academic performance, and engaging in a regular diet [OR = 0.65, 95% CI (0.65, 0.62), p < .001] was associated with higher academic performance. Conclusions Regular diet, reducing smoking and alcohol drinking, and physical activity should be the target when designing health interventions for improving academic performance in Korean adolescents.