Education provides the opportunity to overcome
poverty and attain greater wellbeing. An evaluation was done of
the impact of education - understood as formation of knowledge,
values and attitudes – on wellbeing in high school students in a
poor rural zone of Yucatan, Mexico. A total of 223 (94 women,
129 men) students from 14 to 19 years of age answered an
instrument covering two wellbeing dimensions: eating habits and
self-concept. Statistical analyses of their answers showed
education to have an effect only in some aspects of eating habits.
Differences by sex were present in both eating habits and selfconcept,
and age affected only self-concept. The education offered
these students had only a minimal effect on improving their
wellbeing, undermining one of the overarching purposes of
education.