Sport and Nutrition: Promoting Healthy Minds and Academic Achievement

Dear Colleagues,

The relationship connecting diet, sport participation and educational success is receiving increasing attention across the fields of nutrition, public health and educational science. A growing body of evidence indicates that healthy dietary habits and consistent engagement in organized sport activities contribute not only to improved physical well-being but also to enhanced cognitive functioning, emotional regulation and academic achievement. Unlike general physical activity, which may include informal or unstructured movement, sport practice introduces pedagogical dimensions such as teamwork, discipline, goal-setting and resilience, which are particularly relevant for students’ personal and educational development.

However, important aspects of these interactions remain insufficiently explored. Questions persist regarding the mechanisms through which nutritional quality influences brain development, how practice in specific sports supports the executive functions crucial for learning and how lifestyle behaviors intersect with socio-educational factors to shape students’ academic trajectories.

This Special Issue invites interdisciplinary contributions aimed at deepening our understanding of these connections. We welcome studies focusing on the combined or independent effects of diet and sport participation on cognitive development, learning outcomes and school performance. Research addressing psychoeducational interventions, school-based sport programs and strategies that promote healthy behaviors through structured sporting experiences among children and adolescents is particularly encouraged.

By integrating perspectives from nutrition science, sport science, psychology and education, this Special Issue seeks to advance knowledge on how healthy dietary choices and meaningful sport participation can effectively support healthier minds and, ultimately, more successful students.

Prof. Dr. Domenico Tafuri
Prof. Dr. Francesca Latino
Guest Editors

Dr. Maria Giovanna Tafuri
Guest Editor Assistant

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