Health & Academics

The academic success of America’s youth is strongly linked with their health, and is one way to predict adult health outcomes.

Healthy students are better learners

Health-risk behaviors such as early sexual initiation, violence, and substance use are consistently linked to poor grades and test scores and lower educational attainment.1-5

In turn, academic success is an excellent indicator for the overall well-being of youth and a primary predictor and determinant of adult health outcomes.6-8 Leading national education organizations recognize the close relationship between health and education, as well as the need to foster health and well-being within the educational environment for all students.9-12

Schools are the Right Place for a Healthy Start

Schools play a critical role in promoting the health and safety of young people and helping them establish lifelong healthy behaviors. Research shows that school health programs reduce the prevalence of health risk behaviors among youth and have a positive effect on academic performance.13 CDC analyzes research findings to develop strategies for schools to address health risk behaviors among students and creates tools to help schools implement these strategies.