Background:

nutrition and health are factors that influence the development of learning. The nutritional status is achieved according to the balance and quality of the nutrients ingested in the diet and it is measured by indicators such as: body mass index for age and allows to diagnose overweight and obesity.

Objective:

to determine the relationship between nutritional status by anthropometry and eating habits with school performance in adolescents.

Methods:

descriptive, correlational, observational study was carried out in 180 adolescents of the Educational Institution. The sample was composed of 83 teenagers. The nutritional status was obtained by anthropometry, weight by balance, height with height meter and the technical guide for nutritional anthropometric assessment. The data was recorded and for the variables an anonymous coded survey was applied to associate the results. For school performance, the average grades provided by the Institution were used. The anthropometric indicators body mass index and height for age were obtained with the free license program. Descriptive statistics, Chi square test, and Odd Ratio were used to measure the strength of association.

Results:

the body mass index for the age in the majority of the students presented normal nutritional status; half corresponded to women, men were twice as obese and had inadequate nutritional status; the women were thinner. The inadequate nutritional status was observed in men the normal size predominated in women. Many had inadequate eating habits. And more than 50% showed anthropometric indexes in relation to adequate school performance.

Conclusions:

there was no significant relationship between adolescents' nutritional status by body mass index / age, height / age, and school performance; nor between the alimentary habits with scholastic performance, without discarding the world-wide influence that exerts the technology in the nutritional state, alimentary habits or scholastic performance.

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