ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1643854
This article is part of the Research TopicImpact of nutrition on brain healthView all 14 articles
Dietary habits and cognitive performance in primary school students: A cross-sectional study in Khemissat region in Morocco
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universite Ibn Tofail, Kenitra, Morocco
- 2Universite Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fes, Morocco
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Background: In children, cognitive performance is influenced by dietary habits, health status, and socioeconomic factors. Poor diets, especially high intakes of ultra-processed foods, together with psychological stress and learning difficulties, can impair attention and concentration in school aged children. It is critical to comprehend these interactions. It supports improved long-term health and educational outcomes Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among primary school students in the region of Khemissat, Morocco. Socioeconomic parameters, dietary habits, health status, visual problems, psychological stress and learning difficulties were assessed via questionnaires completed with parental consent. Cognitive performance was assessed via the d2R test, which measures processing speed, concentration and accuracy. Results: Of the 330 students (53.9% girls, 46.1% boys), the majority had a BMI of less than 18.5 (59.7%). Most reported no health problems (91.2%) or vision problems (89.4%), while 32.7% experienced psychological stress and 43% had learning difficulties. In terms of dietary habits showed, 66.9% of participants ate three or more meals a day, but 60% skipped breakfast. The d2R test results revealed that higher meal regularity and breakfast consumption were associated with better processing speed, concentration and accuracy. Conclusion: This study highlights the significant influence of dietary habits and lifestyle factors on cognitive performance among primary school students. Regular meal consumption, particularly breakfast, was positively associated with increased attention, concentration, and processing accuracy. In contrast, high intake of ultra-processed foods and the presence of psychological stress and learning difficulties were linked to poorer cognitive outcomes.
Keywords: cognitive performance, dietary habits, Survey, school-aged children, Morocco
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 22 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Elkhatir, GHAFFOULI, Louaste, Loukili and Aboussaleh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mohcin Elkhatir, mohcin.elkhatir@uit.ac.ma
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