Savannah Alvey

English 123-15
Professor Eileen Abrahams
12/09/14

Beanna, Nicole, Daniel Cruz, Ashley Shanahan, Ketty Fernandez and Jennifer
Gutierrez. A Correlational Investigation of the Relationships Among
Nutrition-Related Attitudes and Behavior, Body Mass, and Learning and
Verbal Memory Performance in College Students. New School Psychology
Bulletin. 10.1 (2013): 37-43. Academic Search Complete. Print. 23 Nov. 2014.

The article written by Benna, Cruz, Shanahan, Fernandez and Gutierrez

presents their study on the potential impact that eating habits and awareness of
nutrition have on the learning and memory of college students. These writers
performed a study among a sample of college students who wanted to discover if
poor nutrition did in fact interfere with their learning and memory. These college
students took a test to see if we could really discover what the truth may be.
The test received by the college students was a California Verbal Learning
Test (CVLT-2). While it was able to figure out the functions of learning and memory
among the different college students, results found that poor nutrition does in fact
interfere with these mental processes. College students that had more knowledge of
sources of nutrition and healthy food choices ended up having better CVLT-2
performance, while the other participants did not.

The study performed also found that the lack of promotion towards healthy
eating and the exposure of resources promoting unhealthy food is a cause of college
students poor nutrition. Benna, Cruz, Shanahan, Fernandez and Gutierrez also
found that the popular trend of dieting is another eating behavior that can interfere
with a college students learning and memory.
The goal of this study is to not only encourage students but the colleges to
better address good nutrition. Nutrition-related knowledge is something very vital
and something that college students can carry with them forever. Increasing the
number of programs that inform students on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle can
benefit everyone. Clubs, seminars, or even pamphlets on healthy food around
campus can make a difference.
This writers emphasize the fact that this needs to be done early in a
students college experience, that way it gives students the opportunity to reflect on
their behaviors and acknowledge nutrition daily. Addressing these issues will not
only be avoiding weight gain and health issues for the long run, but it will benefit the
overall learning and memory of college students.
Benna, Cruz, Shanahan, Fernandez and Gutierrez help back up my argument
that poor nutrition does in fact interfere with college students learning. If college
students dont pick up the knowledge behind the consequences of bad nutrition
now, they will only make it worse for future generations. We need to promote the
knowledge and benefits of good nutrition and eliminate unhealthy food in college
students diets. If that happens, we can expect to have a healthier and more
successful future for everyone.