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Influence of Having Breakfast on Cognitive Performance and Mood in 13- to 20-Year-Old High School Students: Results of a Crossover Trial
Abstract
The goal was to determine whether breakfast had effects on the cognitive performance and mood of high school students.
A crossover trial was performed in boarding schools, involving 104 students between 13 and 20 years of age. The participants were randomly assigned to 2 equal-size groups on the morning of the first testing day. One half of the total sample received a standardized breakfast, whereas the other half received no breakfast. Seven days later, the treatment order was reversed. Measurements of cognitive function included standardized tests of attention and concentration, as well as tests of verbal and spatial memory. In addition, mood was rated with a self-administered questionnaire covering the dimensions of positive and negative affect, information uptake, arousal, and alertness. Statistical analysis consisted of repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Breakfast had no effect on sustained attention among high school students. Visuospatial memory was improved in male students. Self-reported alertness improved significantly in the entire study population. Male students reported feeling more positive after consuming breakfast, compared with the fasting condition.
This crossover trial demonstrated positive short-term effects of breakfast on cognitive functioning and self-reported alertness in high school students.
... For example, Mahoney et al. (2005) found that breakfast containing more fiber and protein was associated with differences in reported motivation. According to Widenhorn-Müller et al. (2008), breakfast impacts performance via the energy (that may be construed as motivation from a drive perspective) caused by the macronutrient composition of a meal. The concept of homeostatic energy regulation (to maintain energy levels) has been cited in relation to goal pursuit with, for example, Jackson and Vaughn (2019) finding that many people are driven to eat to acquire the necessary energy to achieve goals. ...
... Using these inferred indicators of motivation, breakfast consumption has been associated with better psychosocial functioning among children at school (Mhurchu et al., 2010). Adolescent students have also reported more positive feelings, alertness, and interest in their schoolwork following breakfast consumption (Widenhorn-Müller et al., 2008), whereas regular breakfast intake has been associated with greater connectedness among adolescents at school (Sampasa-Kanyinga & Hamilton, 2017). However, it should be noted that there is less research examining "classic" motivational constructs, such as self-efficacy, that reside under educational and school psychology theories (see Pintrich, 2003, for review) and thus there is a need to further explore these associations. ...
... Researchers have also suggested it is important to examine the extent to which breakfast may be linked to school students' achievement via key mediating factors (Corcoran et al., 2016). Motivation has been theorized as one mediator, often in terms of the improved energy and alertness afforded by the consumption of breakfast by children and adolescents (e.g., Adolphus et al., 2013;Murphy, 2007;Widenhorn-Müller et al., 2008). Prior research has also demonstrated that motivation is a key mediator between other personal (e.g., home life) and contextual factors (e.g., teacher-student relationships) and students' academic performance. ...
Breakfast is often cited as the most important meal of the day and vital for students’ academic functioning at school. Although much research has linked students’ breakfast consumption to better achievement, there has been debate about why and how breakfast has academic benefits. The present study of 648 Australian high school students investigated (a) the role of breakfast consumption and breakfast quality in students’ self-reported motivation and their achievement in a science test, (b) the role of motivation in mediating the link between breakfast consumption and quality and students’ achievement, and (c) the extent to which breakfast consumption effects are moderated by the quality of breakfast (e.g., more vegetables, fruit, dairy/protein, wholegrains, cereals, water; less sugary drinks, processed meat, fast take-away and unhealthy snack foods). Findings indicated that beyond the effects of personal, home, and classroom factors, breakfast consumption predicted higher adaptive motivation (p < .05), breakfast quality predicted lower maladaptive motivation (p < .05), and in turn, students’ adaptive (positively, p < .01) and maladaptive (negatively, p < .01) motivation predicted their achievement. Moreover, adaptive motivation significantly mediated the relationship between breakfast consumption and achievement (p < .05). The effect of breakfast consumption was moderated by the quality of breakfast such that consuming a high-quality breakfast in the morning was associated with the highest levels of adaptive motivation (p < .01) and achievement (p < .05) later in the day. Findings have implications for educational practice and policy seeking to promote a healthy start to the school day to optimize students’ motivation and achievement.
... More research is needed to observe the relationship between experiences of missing meals and hunger and temporary emotional states, given their potential impact on day-to-day social, cognitive, and academic functioning (Timmons & Margolin, 2015) and cumulative effects on psychological well-being (Houben et al., 2015). Also, findings related to gender differences are mixed and require further investigation (Hammami et al., 2020;Pickett et al., 2015;Widenhorn-Müller et al., 2008). ...
... Though previous research has typically focused on summary estimations of the frequency of missed meals and psychological symptoms over long periods, our research investigated transient and subclinical mood states associated with skipped meals. To our knowledge, the only other study of missed breakfast and daily affect is Widenhorn-Müller et al. (2008) who randomly assigned youth to a "missed breakfast" condition and whose findings are consistent with our own. Our investigation is the first to use daily diaries to examine these links. ...
Objective:
Youth frequently miss meals and experience hunger, yet no studies have assessed how these experiences relate to changes in daily emotional states. This daily diary study examined associations of missing breakfast, missing lunch, and hunger with daily positive and negative affect among young adolescents.
Methods:
A community sample of 133 grade 5 and 6 students (50.4% boys, Mage = 10.77, 19.5% BIPOC) from two public schools completed baseline socio-demographic measures at the beginning of the study and daily measures at the end of the school day over 5 consecutive days. Measures included positive and negative affect, breakfast, lunch, and hunger. Multilevel regression models were constructed to test the associations.
Results:
Among participating youth, 27.8% missed breakfast at least once, 15.0% missed lunch at least once, and 26.3% felt hungry at least once. Missing breakfast was associated with increased negative affect (B = 0.36, p = .030) and missing lunch was related to both increased negative affect (B = 0.52, p = .019) and decreased positive affect (B = -0.80, p = .002). Hunger was not related to daily affect.
Conclusion:
This study provides a unique view of youths' experiences of missing meals, hunger, and daily emotional states. The findings underscore the importance of youth being adequately nourished through school meal programs. Clinicians should screen for and address missing meals among their young patients.
... Furthermore, children's attendance and absenteeism may be connected to daily breakfast eating. However, in developing nations, the impacts of such supply on academic attainment remain unknown [5][6][7][8][9]. The World Health Organization recognizes that young people who develop healthy eating habits early in life are more likely to maintain maturity and to have reduced risk of chronic diseases [9,10]. ...
... Other investigations have come to similar conclusions [8,10,16].. This can be explained by the apparent benefits of having daily breakfast consumption on increasing school attendance and reducing absenteeism [5][6][7][8][9]. ...
Breakfast skipping and its relationship with academic achievement among primary school children were investigated in this study. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 848 primary school children. Breakfast skipping was analyzed using a 2-item questionnaire. A 19-item Social Academic and Emotional Behavior Risk Screening questionnaire was used to collect data on children’s behavior. The prevalence of breakfast skipping was found to be 38.1%. Living in a rural area (AOR = 5.2; 95% CI: 3.54, 7.71); having illiterate parents (AOR = 6.66; 95% CI 3.0, 14.7); having parents with a primary education level (AOR 5.18, 95% CI: 2.25, 11.94); living with guardians or other relatives (AOR = 4.06; 95%CI: 2.1, 7.9); and having lower academic achievement (AOR = 2.76; 95% CI: 1.44, 5.29) were factors associated with skipping breakfast.
In conclusion, breakfast skipping has been identified as a significant public health concern that requires an immediate response from stakeholders. It is recommended to intervene based on the identified factors.
... Several epidemiological studies have reported that breakfast skipping is a risk factor associated with health problems such as metabolic syndrome (23,24), type 2 diabetes (25), and coronary heart disease (26). In addition, some studies have suggested that breakfast skipping is related to learning performance in children and adolescents (20,27,28). Therefore, breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day for both children and adults (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). ...
... In addition, some studies have suggested that breakfast skipping is related to learning performance in children and adolescents (20,27,28). Therefore, breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day for both children and adults (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). However, the molecular mechanism underlying the abnormal metabolic conditions induced by breakfast skipping remains unknown. ...
Background: To investigate whether shifted timing of eating, breakfast skipping, induces alterations in the circadian clock and abnormal lipid metabolism, we have established a delayed meal timing (DMT) protocol for rats, which started eating food 4 h delay. In the present study, control and DMT rats were fed a high-cholesterol diet during zeitgeber time (ZT) 12-24 and ZT 16-4, respectively. The DMT protocol increased the hepatic lipids and epididymal adipose tissue weight without changes in food intake and body weight. The surge in body temperature was delayed by 4 h in the DMT group, suggesting that energy expenditure was decreased in response to DMT. The peaks of the diurnal rhythm of serum non-esterified fatty acids and insulin were delayed by 2 and 4 h due to DMT, respectively. The oscillation peaks of hepatic de novo fatty acid synthesis gene expression was delayed by 4 h in response to DMT, whereas the peak of hepatic clock genes were 2 h delayed or not by DMT. Although metabolic oscillation is considered to be controlled by clock genes, the disintegration rhythms between the clock genes and lipid metabolism-related genes were not observed in rats fed a high-fat diet in our previous study. These data suggest that the circadian rhythm of de novo fatty acid metabolism is regulated by timing of eating, but is not directly controlled by clock genes. The present study suggests that breakfast skipping would complicate fatty liver and body fat accumulation.
... The effect of breakfast intake and short-term memory, performance and mood on students is controversial. In one hand, a Germanic study has shown that breakfast intake had a positive impact on cognitive functioning and self-reported alertness in high school students [3]. In addition, several studies reported that breakfast is associated with improvement in shortterm memory, mood, long-term memory, and attention spam [4][5][6][7]. ...
... In the present study, there was no correlation between breakfast intake frequency and mood. These findings contradict a number of studies that have shown breakfast consumption to have a positive effect on mood [6,3,18]. The possible explanation may be the appropriate environment provided for the students from the private school; which was awarded the "International Quality Certification" and "Certificate of excellence in the educational performance" for five consecutive years from the Saudi Ministry of Education. ...
Background: Breakfast consumption is labelled as the most important meal of the day. It might be of significant importance for adolescent students as it might influence their short-term memory, performance, and mood. However, the prevalence of skipping breakfast, among adolescents, in Saudi Arabia is high. Aims: To investigate the association between breakfast intake and short-term memory, performance, and mood, among Saudi female adolescents. Subjects and Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted in a secondary female School (Riyadh) involving 170 students (15-19 years). Structured questionnaires on breakfast eating habits, student performance at school, a standardized questionnaire mood and feeling, and a standardized short-term memory test were used for data collection. Statistical analysis used Chi2 test and ANOVA test to assess the association between breakfast intake and the studied parameters. Results: Only 39% of participants keep their daily breakfast. Frequency of breakfast intake was strongly and positively associated with improved performance (R2 =0.87, p<0.001), and to short-term memory score (R2 =0.5, p<0.05). However, no correlation between daily breakfast intake and mood was obtained. Conclusions: This study confirmed the high rate of skipping breakfast among Saudi female adolescents, and provides further evidence on the beneficial effect of breakfast intake on student’s short-term memory as well as the school performance. Nutrition education program targeting this population should be implemented to enhance its awareness on the importance of breakfast intake. Keywords: Breakfast intake, mood, short-term memory, performance, Saudi female adolescents.
... To couple with previous research findings, Mahoney et al. (2005) found that together with improvements in standardized cognitive test scores, breakfast consumption can be highly beneficial for strengthening performance on complex visual tasks. In one of the studies conducted on high school children, researchers found that visuospatial performance following breakfast consumption significantly improved when compared to breakfast omission (Widenhorn-Müller, Hille, Klenk, & Weiland, 2008). So, considering that breakfast consumption can significantly improve cognitive abilities, athletes participating in various sporting events might benefit from well-balanced and regular breakfast consumption. ...
... So, considering that breakfast consumption can significantly improve cognitive abilities, athletes participating in various sporting events might benefit from well-balanced and regular breakfast consumption. Alongside cognitive performance improvements, it is important to reflect on a decent quantity of research projects addressing the positive relationship between breakfast consumption and positive mood states (Benton & Parker, 1998;Widenhorn-Müller et al., 2008;Veasey, Haskell-Ramsay, Kennedy, Tiplady, & Stevenson, 2015). The inability of athletes to achieve optimal mood states may have a negative impact on their overall well-being which can further diminish peak athletic performance capabilities. ...
The purpose of this study is to explore a possible relationship between breakfast consumption and basketball shooting performance. Eighteen male subjects (height=191.5±10.1 cm, mass=93.8±12.1 kg, age=27.5±10.6 years) with considerable amount of basketball playing experience were divided into two groups, with (BF) and without (No-BF) four-day breakfast consumption in a three-week cross-over study design. Subjects completed free throw, 2-point, and 3-point shooting drills on the fourth day of each week. Food intake records were collected during each treatment phase. Paired sample t-tests were used to examine the difference in basketball shooting performance (free throw, 2-point, and 3-point drills) and dietary intake patterns (calories, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) between BF and No-BF testing weeks. Cohen’s D effect sizes were calculated to determine the magnitude of the breakfast consumption as an experimental factor. The average amount of calories, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that the subjects consumed during the breakfast omission week was significantly lower when compared to the breakfast consumption week. Even though the overall basketball shooting performance was improved during the breakfast consumption week, only the average free throw shooting accuracy revealed statistically significant results. However, the effect sizes for almost all the dependent variables exhibited small to moderate magnitudes. Considering that basketball players are always looking for ways to improve their shooting performance, a well-balanced diet with habitual breakfast consumption may be a beneficial method for individual and team performance enhancement, which can ultimately lead to increased chances of a successful game outcome.
... More children who ate breakfast progressed to the highest, most difficult level of the task and made fewer errors compared to those who skipped breakfast. An advantage for breakfast on visualspatial memory has been demonstrated in previous studies in adolescents [23,37]. ...
... Furthermore, these effects were apparent immediately after consuming breakfast and continued until the mid-or late-morning. These findings concur with previous findings demonstrating consistent advantageous effects on subjective feelings of mood, motivation and alertness following breakfast consumption relative to no breakfast in adolescents [3,4,37]. Subjective state, such as mood, is an important outcome in its own right, but mood can influence cognitive function [43][44][45]. ...
Purpose
We tested the acute effect of breakfast (ready-to-eat-cereal [RTEC] and milk) versus (vs.) no breakfast on cognitive function and subjective state in adolescents.
Methods
Healthy adolescents ( n = 234) aged 11–13 years were recruited to take part in this school-based, acute, randomised, controlled, parallel groups trial with two interventions; Breakfast or No Breakfast. The breakfast intervention consisted of ad libitum intake of RTEC (up to 70 g) with milk (up to 300 ml) administered in a naturalistic school breakfast programme environment. Cognitive function was assessed at baseline and + 70 and + 215 min post-intervention in a group-testing situation, similar to a school classroom context. The CANTAB test battery included: Simple Reaction Time (SRT), 5-Choice Reaction Time (5-CRT), Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP), and Paired Associates Learning (PAL; primary outcome). Data collection commenced January 2011 and ended May 2011. This trial was retrospectively registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03979027 on 07/06/2019.
Results
A significant effect of the intervention (CMH[1] = 7.29, p < 0.01) was found for the number of levels achieved on the PAL task. A significant difference between interventions was found when baseline performance reached level 2 (JT, z = 2.58, p < 0.01), such that 100% of participants in the breakfast intervention reached the maximum level 4 but only 41.7% of those in the no breakfast intervention reached level 4. A significant baseline*intervention interaction (F[1,202] = 6.95, p < 0.01) was found for total errors made on the PAL task, indicating that participants who made above-average errors at baseline reduced the total number of errors made at subsequent test sessions following breakfast consumption whilst those in the no breakfast intervention did not. There was a positive effect of breakfast on reaction time and visual-sustained attention. The results also demonstrated interactions of intervention with baseline cognitive performance, such that breakfast conferred a greater advantage for performance when baseline performance was poorer.
Conclusion
Consuming breakfast has a positive acute effect on cognition in adolescents.
... Breakfast is an important meal of the day, providing essential nutrients to support normal growth and re-fueling energy after long hours of sleep [1]. In addition, breakfast consumption can improve cognitive learning and academic performance [2][3][4][5][6]. In contrast, skipping breakfast in adolescents is associated with less healthy behaviors such as lower physical activity levels [7] and poorer food choices [1]. ...
... Furthermore, our results showed a significant trend toward higher daily breakfast intake when parents were satisfied with their children's breakfast and that most parents believed that having breakfast can improve the academic performance of children. This finding agrees with previous research showing that breakfast consumption can improve cognitive learning and academic performance in children [2][3][4][5][6]. Thus, parental knowledge and emphasis on the importance of breakfast consumption were not lacking among most of the Saudi parents in the present study. ...
Background:
Breakfast is an important meal that provides essential nutrients and energy. However, few comprehensive studies have reported breakfast habits and related behaviors among Saudi children. This study investigated breakfast consumption patterns and the associations of socio-demographic variables with daily breakfast intake among Saudi children.
Methods:
A multistage stratified cluster random sampling technique was used to select 1051 elementary school boys and girls in Riyadh. Body weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) was computed. The breakfast eating habits and behaviors were assessed using a specifically designed self-reported questionnaire that was completed by the children's parents.
Results:
More than 79% of children skipped daily breakfast, with no significant sex difference. Children in private schools consumed breakfast more frequently than those attending public schools. Multivariate analyses showed that boys in private schools had a significantly higher intake of breakfast than that in boys in public schools, yet, boys in public schools had significantly higher BMI than boys in private schools. Using logistic regression while adjusting for confounders showed insignificant effect for parent education. Among breakfast eaters, spread cheese sandwiches were consumed most frequently, followed by fried egg sandwiches and breakfast cereals. Full-fat milk, tea with milk, water, and fruit juice were the most consumed drinks. Girls consumed significantly more fresh fruits during breakfast than did boys. Mothers prepared breakfast at home most of the time (84.5%). Parents appeared mostly satisfied with the breakfast consumed by their child at home and placed high importance on breakfast compared to lunch or dinner.
Conclusions:
The proportion of school children who ate daily breakfast at home was low, which may have implications for children's school performance. Effort is needed to promote daily breakfast consumption among Saudi school children and to introduce appropriate interventions aimed at promoting daily breakfast consumption among Saudi children.
... In the study with 7434 participants, when compared individuals who eat breakfast seldom or never with those who eat every day, the anxiety and depressive mood increased 3 times for boys and 1.6 times for girls in breakfast skippers (16). Traditionally, breakfast is regarded as the most important meal of the day, and there are several reports to suggest that eating breakfast in children provides many health benefits, ranging from improved overall dietary quality to enhanced cognitive abilities, academic performance, attention, and memory (17)(18)(19)(20). Specifically, steady breakfast eaters have significantly higher scores in full scale verbal and performance intelligence quotient test than those of breakfast skippers, even after adjusting for gender, current residential situation, degree of parental education, parental employment, and source of the primary child caregiver (17,21). ...
... In support of this hypothesis, engaging in regular family meals is negatively correlated with the use of these substances (9). A third hypothesis relates to nutritional effects, proposing that the consumption of breakfast affects cognitive development in children (16)(17)(18). Eating breakfast after the overnight fast that occurs during sleep supplements low blood glucose levels through the rapid degradation of carbohydrates into glucose, which serves as fuel for physical and cognitive performance (17). ...
... The effect of breakfast intake and short-term memory, performance and mood on students is controversial. In one hand, a Germanic study has shown that breakfast intake had a positive impact on cognitive functioning and self-reported alertness in high school students [3]. In addition, several studies reported that breakfast is associated with improvement in shortterm memory, mood, long-term memory, and attention spam [4][5][6][7]. ...
... In the present study, there was no correlation between breakfast intake frequency and mood. These findings contradict a number of studies that have shown breakfast consumption to have a positive effect on mood [6,3,18]. The possible explanation may be the appropriate environment provided for the students from the private school; which was awarded the "International Quality Certification" and "Certificate of excellence in the educational performance" for five consecutive years from the Saudi Ministry of Education. ...
... Based on the evidences, cognitive performance including short and long-term memory, attention capacity and mood have been well improved after consuming breakfast compared to breakfast skippers (Smith et al. 1999;Gajre et al. 2008). Despite the supporting evidences regarding a relationship between breakfast consumption and cognitive improvement, some other research have reported no benefit of breakfast consumption on cognitive functioning compared to breakfast skipping (Cromer et al. 1990;Rampersaud et al. 2005;Widenhorn-Müller et al. 2008;Iovino et al. 2016). One reason for the difference in results could be attributed to the fact that some research has used "ad libitum" breakfast based on habitual breakfast intake, while others had standardized breakfast. ...
... Various nutritional interventions have been proposed so as to clarify the impacts of breakfast consumption and its components on cognitive functioning in different populations. It was reported in a study that any food intervention that attenuates the hunger would improve the cognitive performance (Widenhorn-Müller et al. 2008). A great deal of research have suggested that glucose plays a key role as a mediator for cognitive performance, since it's primarily the only fuel that can be used directly by the brain (Mergenthaler et al. 2013;Weinstein et al. 2015). ...
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effects of breakfast cereal consumption on inhibitory cognitive control in competitive male collegiate athletes with habitual breakfast skipping.
Method: The study was performed in a randomized crossover design with trials scheduled 7 days apart. Forty competitive male collegiate athletes (age = 21:3 years; BMI = 19.7 kg/m²) with habitual breakfast skipping were given a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal or no breakfast cereal in two experimental and control conditions. The breakfast included high glycemic index ready-to-eat breakfast (cereals and 125 ml skim milk: 200 kcal, 36 g CHO, 5 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 1 g fiber, 22 g sugars). The Stroop Interference Test was used to measure inhibitory cognitive control. Paired t-test and independent t-test were used to analyze the data at significant level of p ≤ 0.05.
Results: The results suggested that reading interference tendency and naming interference tendency as an indicator of sensory motor speed test were improved significantly after breakfast consumption (p ≤ 0.05), while no significant change was found in the control condition (p ≥ 0.05).
Conclusion: Breakfast consumption has a positive key role in cognitive performance for inhibitory control.
... Many investigations have been carried out in the USA and England. In Germany, only a few empirical studies exist (Eissing 2011;Widenhorn-Muller et al. 2008;Genz 2007;Wagner et al. 2011). The results show that the quality of breakfast described by the GI (glycemic index) greatly influences cognition. ...
... Some studies emphasised different nutrient compositions of the breakfasts, including the sugar, fat or carbohydrate content, or compared foods with different glycaemic indexes (Adolphus et al. 2013(Adolphus et al. , 2016Terschlüsen et al. 2010;Rampersaud et al. 2005;Hoyland et al. 2009). The four existing German studies used a test breakfast consisting primarily of whole-grain bread, fruits and vegetables, milk products and mineral water (Eissing 2011;Widenhorn-Muller et al. 2008;Genz 2007;Wagner et al. 2011). The assigned tests for the measurement of mental performance show large differences as well. ...
AimThe study determines the influences of breakfast in school on the cognitive abilities of pupils including the factors age, breakfast at home and SES. Subjects and methodsOne thousand one hundred eighty-one children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years (9 primary and 4 secondary schools in Germany) participated in a crossover design. Seven different foods were examined according to the German diet. The test measures used were cognitive domain information processing, memory (KAI: General intelligence) and concentration (KT 3-4 R). ResultsThe comprehensive evaluation of all assigned test foods shows a significant improvement in the mental performance for all test parameters. The measured improvement of mental performance increases with the age of the subjects. This is based on the decreasing percentage of children having breakfast at home. Breakfasting at home proves generally more effective compared with breakfast at school. The test food consumed suggests an important difference in the increase of mental performance as a function of their composition. Conclusion
Based on the results obtained, it is highly recommended to offer breakfast at school, particularly at the secondary school level.
... Breakfast is the most important meal of the day (Arora, Nazar, Gupta, Perry, Reddy, & Stigler, 2012). Breakfast is the first meal of the day to break the fast after a long sleep and eat within 2 to 3 hours after waking. Eating breakfast has many benefits which is related to cognitive performance (Hoyland, Dye, & Lawton, 2009;Widenhorn-M?ller, Hille, Klenk, & Weiland, 2008) and a healthy lifestyle (Widenhorn-M?ller et al., 2008). The benefits of healthy lifestyles were associated with nutrient intake, nutritional quality and weight management (Dubois, Girard, Kent, Farmer, & TatoneTokuda, 2009). ...
... Breakfast is the first meal of the day to break the fast after a long sleep and eat within 2 to 3 hours after waking. Eating breakfast has many benefits which is related to cognitive performance (Hoyland, Dye, & Lawton, 2009;Widenhorn-M?ller, Hille, Klenk, & Weiland, 2008) and a healthy lifestyle (Widenhorn-M?ller et al., 2008). The benefits of healthy lifestyles were associated with nutrient intake, nutritional quality and weight management (Dubois, Girard, Kent, Farmer, & TatoneTokuda, 2009). ...
Nutrition is still a health problem that needs attention in Indonesia. Based on the data of Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) (2010), the 12.2 % prevalence of toddlers’ obesity in 2007 increased to 14.0 % in 2010; whereas, in national scale, the 18.4 % prevalence of malnutrition in 2007
increased to 19.6% in 2013 (Riskesdas, 2013). Recent nutrition management programs have not shown maximum improvement. One of the programs to improve the nutritional status in the community is Posyandu, Pos Pelayanan Terpadu (United Service Post). In order to optimize the role of Posyandu, cadre leadership is needed. The purpose of this study is to analyz e how effective the transformation of Posyandu cadre leadership is in the effort to improve nutritional status. This study used a qualitative research method with snowball sampling technique. A head of Posyandu cadre became the main informant in this study; in addition, a Public Health Center (Public Health Center) nutritional officer and a mother who had a toddler during the head’s leadership period became the triangulation informants. The Data collection of this study used in-depth interviews. The result of the research indicates that the head of cadre had too much burden in her job; she assumed that her cadres cannot do the given tasks, while the cadres said that she did not give clear instruction and she always took over the tasks by herself. In conclusion, the leadership transformation did not go well because the head of cadre did not delegate tasks optimally to her cadres.
... Anak-anak banyak menghabiskan waktu bermain sendirian bersama teman-temannya. Bermain mendukung tumbuh kembang anak (Widenhorn-mu, K., et al., 2020;. Tidak hanya mengembangkan kemampuan fisik dan motorik, tetapi juga mengembangkan nilai-nilai moral, intelektual, linguistik, sosial dan emosional. ...
Many parents work outside the home fora long duration of time, making parents less involved in childcare, especially in their play activities. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze parents' participation in children's play activities at home. The targets of this study were five households with children (5-6 years old). In Kalongan village, East Ungaran, there are working and unemployed parents. This research was designed using a descriptive qualitative method. Interview, observation, office research, documentary research and triangulation were used as data collection techniques. The results showed that parents who participated in play activities at home during childhood were mostly the same, i.e. working and unemployed parents with advanced education and moderate economic status. Then the type of parents with a weak economic background is also decreasing. On the other hand, the participation of other people in children's activities depends on the size of the family.
... The Abstract serves as the initial immersion into the language of a scientific research paper. For instance, Figure 14 illustrates the importance of selected words in the Abstract of a paper titled "Influence of Having Breakfast on Cognitive Performance and Mood in 13-to 20-Year-Old High School Students: Results of a Crossover Trial" (Widenhorn-Muller et al. 2008). Initially, upon reading the Title, it can be inferred that having breakfast affects cognition, including memory, attention, and mood. ...
Engineering education plays a vital role in serving society, driving ongoing efforts to improve its pedagogy. One such educational tool is the reading of scientific articles, a skill that holds immense value for students who become proficient at it, both academically and professionally. Derived from a synthesis of numerous research studies and practical experiences, this book offers a straightforward and effective approach to reading research articles and developing analytical skills through critical evaluation of their content. Additionally, the book outlines a teaching intervention framework aimed at engaging students in the reading of primary literature, drawing from practical experience in an undergraduate Fluid Technology course. Delving into the nuances of the paper-writing process, from conception to publication, the book provides valuable insights and offers recommendations for increasing motivation and strengthening students’ sense of belonging.
... Multiple studies highlighting the decline in cognitive processes with the omission of breakfast in school children were in line with the results attained in our study (15,19). However, a group of researchers who conducted a study among high school students have concluded that breakfast consumption has no effect on sustained attention (25,26). Similar results have been reported by Dickie and Bender wherein the consumption/omission of breakfast have shown absolutely no effect on the mental performances in school-going children (27). ...
Introduction and Aim: Consumption of breakfast has been commonly associated with cognitive parameters among school children and adolescents. The current cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim to investigate the effect of breakfast consumption/omission on cognitive functioning and learning among young adults. Materials and Methods: Sixty college-going students, divided into two groups such as breakfast consumers and breakfast skippers were asked to fill a physical condition-based study questionnaire. The results of which were assessed along with the performances given in a collective cognition-based task. The obtained data was retained and later analyzed by GraphPad Prism (version 5). Results: The overall performance, attentiveness, response time and alertness were significantly higher among the college-going breakfast consumers when compared to breakfast skippers thereby highlighting the importance of daily consumption of breakfast among young adults. Conclusion: Breakfast consumption is of paramount importance among college going students, omission of which could influence cognitive performances and behavioral aspects. Hence, academic programs should promote nutritionally balanced breakfast consumption among college students.
... Studies done on school children to find out the effect of dietary habits on school performance showed that there is a strong association between eating a healthy breakfast (containing milk and fruits), regularity of meals and school performance. The researchers were of the opinion that the beneficial effect they found may be partially due Vitamin D and academic performance to the skipping of fast food or any unhealthy food which they would otherwise consume during the day (Kim et al., 2016;Mahoney, Taylor, Kanarek, & Samuel, 2005;Widenhorn-Muller, Hille, Klenk, & Weiland, 2008). A systematic review to examine the beneficial effect of breakfast on the academic performance of children and adolescents concluded that most of the studies were targeted at the memory and attention of students rather than cognitive tasks like problem-solving skills (Hoyland, Dye, & Lawton, 2009). ...
Purpose
Many researchers have reported that vitamin D can affect brain development as well as brain function. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the Saudi population is 81% and it is more among women than among men. Though many studies have been done to find out the factors influencing the academic performance of Health sciences students, there is not adequate evidence regarding the influence of vitamin D level on academic performance. Therefore, this study aims to find out the association if any, between the vitamin D level and academic performance of health sciences students.
Design/methodology/approach
After obtaining the ethical committee approval, the data was collected from 86 female medical students, 70 female applied medical sciences students and 57 nursing students of Northern Border University. The detailed questionnaire contained the aim of the study, demographic characteristics and academic performance predictors such as self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic engagement and social engagement. The vitamin D levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) machine (BioTek) which is available in the local hospital. The multiple linear regression analysis was used to find out the association between vitamin D levels and academic performance.
Findings
This study showed that vitamin D level had a significant association with the overall performance of the students as well as their self-efficacy.
Research limitations/implications
Since there is a lot of stress among health sciences students due to subject overload and inadequacy of time, the health aspects are often overlooked. This study emphasizes the importance of early screening of vitamin D levels and early intervention in those with low vitamin D levels for better academic performance.
Social implications
There is very little awareness of the impact of vitamin D deficiency on academic motivation, academic engagement, social engagement and self-efficacy among medical and health sciences students. This study can increase awareness.
Originality/value
There are very few studies done to find out the association between Vitamin D level and academic performance. This study is unique as it has highlighted the association between vitamin D level and grade point average (GPA) and also the association between vitamin D level and academic predictors such as self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic engagement and social engagement.
... Breakfast consumption has positive associations with health and wellbeing and is associated with lower risk of obesity [1] and better cardiometabolic health [2,3]. Breakfast consumption is also linked with greater selfreported alertness [4], better academic performance [5], and better psychological health in adolescents [6]. Interventions that increase breakfast consumption in adolescents increase performance during cognitive tasks [7] and during exercise [8] and result in less weight gain compared to not consuming breakfast [9]. ...
Background
Poor self-reported sleep health has been linked to not consuming breakfast in adolescents, but it is unknown whether poor sleep measured objectively predicts next-day breakfast consumption within adolescents. We investigated within- and between-person associations of objectively measured sleep dimensions and subjective sleep quality with adolescent breakfast consumption.
Methods
Data were collected from a micro-longitudinal substudy of the Year 15 wave of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 590). Adolescents wore an actigraphy device and completed daily diaries for ~ 1 week (M ± SD = 5.6 ± 1.4 nights per adolescent, range: 3–9), where they rated their sleep quality and reported whether they had eaten breakfast that day, with no specific definition of breakfast provided (M ± SD = 5.5 ± 1.4 days per adolescent, range: 3–9). Separate mixed models assessed whether actigraphy-measured sleep duration (linear and quadratic, sleep duration x sleep duration), timing, maintenance efficiency, and subjective quality predicted odds of breakfast consumption both within and between adolescents. Variability of sleep duration and timing (standard deviation per person), sleep regularity index (SRI), and social jetlag were tested as additional between-person predictors. Analyses with predictors other than sleep duration were adjusted for sleep duration.
Results
Following nights when adolescents had shorter or longer sleep duration (p = .005; curvilinear association), later sleep onset, or later sleep midpoint (both p = .025) than their own usual, they had lower odds of consuming breakfast the next day (within-person associations). Adolescents who on average had later sleep onset (p = .013) or midpoint (p = .013) or who reported lower sleep quality (p = .011) had lower average odds of consuming breakfast (between-person associations). Adolescents with greater variability of sleep duration (p = .005), midpoint (p = .004), or offset (p < .001) had lower average odds of consuming breakfast (between-person associations). Sleep maintenance efficiency (within or between adolescents), SRI, and social jetlag were not associated with breakfast consumption (all p > .10).
Conclusions
Multiple dimensions of sleep health are associated with breakfast consumption, both within and between adolescents. Poor sleep and dietary behaviors in adolescence may negatively impact future metabolic health.
... Although the evidence is quite mixed, studies demonstrate that eating breakfast has a positive effect on children in terms of memory, mood and attention [10,11]. Adolphus et al., reported that the ignorance of morning meals will end up with the symptoms such as extreme hunger, irritation, anger, aggression and fatigue, due to exhaustion of glucose levels in the morning [12]. ...
... Intellectual performance improves significantly if nutrients that favour the functioning of neurotransmitters are included in the diet. It is not the purpose of this paper to address what may be regarded as the right diet, since much information on this subject can be found in the literature [39]. ...
Many engineering professors teach their classes without having received previous training in psycho-pedagogy and neuroscience. While a few of them have received some form of pedagogical training during their academic career, the vast majority have not acquired any training in the field of didactics, that is, in the science of teaching. Teaching is a difficult task, and teaching effectively is even more difficult. Much literature exists on different teaching-learning methodologies that have been empirically tested in engineering studies. However, practically none of these works make reference to the main factor in any learning process: how does the human brain learn? This paper analyses learning from the perspective of its three main phases (motivation, attention, memorization), and how these phases should be addressed in a lecture, since many of the Engineering classes at universities around the world are given as lectures. The current knowledge of neuroscience is used in the paper to provide twelve recommendations on how a lecture should be successfully given in Engineering Degrees. For the selection of these twelve tips we use two criteria: they must be relevant in a lecture, and they must have a neuroscientific basis, which is explained in the framework of the paper. For the selection of these twelve tips, we use two criteria: they must be relevant in a lecture, and they must have a neuroscientific basis, which is explained in the framework of the paper. The relationship between the twelve tips and the seven principles of good practice in undergraduate studies enunciated by Chickering and Gamson has also been established. The relation of each tip with the learning phases to which it refers is explained, and an example of how to apply it in a lecture is given. This paper presents a new way of working in engineering education: how to apply the knowledge provided by neuroscience to the teaching-learning process. This work provides some ideas about how this can be done in a lecture, but it is also necessary to conduct experiments to validate the effectiveness of the twelve tips proposed herein. It is likewise necessary to carry out similar work for other teaching methodologies such as PBL, flipped classroom or service-learning. The future of education cannot be developed without taking into account the functioning of the human brain or by applying educational practices that are unsupported by scientific evidence of their effectiveness.
... The evidence shown the breakfast protective effect in this cognitive variable, as well as the negative consequences of fasting in children and young people (Mahoney et al., 2005;Wesnes et al., 2003). Widenhorn-Müller et al. (2008), in a German study including male youth and young adults (aged 13-20), showed the positive effect of having breakfast daily and the negative effects of skipping breakfast on short-time memory (visual and verbal). A research conducted with 30 American children (9-11 years old) points out worse results in children's memory span tests when they had skipped breakfast. ...
... 9 Kurangnya asupan zat gizi dapat menyebabkan gangguan pada neurotransmitter yang secara langsung akan berpengaruh pada konsentrasi belajar akibat energi dan prekursor yang dibutuhkan tidak terpenuhi. 15 Menurut penelitian observasional di Yogyakarta pada 196 murid kelas 5 dan kelas 6 menunjukkan bahwa anak yang tidak teratur melakukan sarapan mempunyai risiko kadar hemoglobin rendah 1,7 kali dibandingkan dengan anak yang teratur sarapan. 10 Data Badan Pusat Statistik tahun 2011 menunjukkan penduduk usia sekolah di Kota Semarang yang berusia 13-15 tahun merupakan penduduk terbanyak ketiga dalam kelompok penduduk usia sekolah. ...
Latar Belakang: Banyaknya kegiatan yang dilakukan remaja mengakibatkan waktu makan sering terlewati dan kurang perhatian dalam memilih komposisi makanan, sehingga remaja rentan mengalami masalah gizi. Mendapatkan tubuh yang lebih ramping menyebabkan remaja putri melakukan diet yang tidak tepat, termasuk melewatkan sarapan pagi. Sarapan menyumbang 20-25% dari kebutuhan energi untuk memenuhi kebutuhan gizi di pagi hari. Melewatkan sarapan menyebabkan hilangnya energi dan zat gizi yang diperlukan untuk sintesis hemoglobin (Hb)Metode: Penelitian cross-sectional dua kelompok tidak berpasangan. Subjek adalah 54 remaja putri berusia 13-15 tahun dibagi menjadi kelompok sarapan dan tidak sarapan, dan dipilih dengan consecutive sampling. Sarapan adalah konsumsi makanan pokok dan lauk pauk sejak bangun tidur sampai jam 10.00. Uji Chi-square digunakan untuk melihat perbedaan antar variabel. Hubungan kebiasaan sarapan dengan kadar Hb dianalisis dengan uji Gamma Somers’d.Hasil: Subjek pada kedua kelompok memiliki status gizi underweight masing-masing 48,15% pada kelompok sarapan dan 44,4% pada kelompok tidak sarapan. Aktivitas fisik kedua kelompok dikategorikan sedentary yaitu 96,3%. Kecukupan energi pada kelompok sarapan lebih tinggi dibandingkan kelompok tidak sarapan yaitu 59,26% dan 14,8%. Kadar Hb rendah lebih banyak ditemukan pada kelompok tidak sarapan yaitu 22,2% dibandingkan kelompok sarapan yaitu 3,7%.Simpulan: Terdapat hubungan kebiasaan sarapan dengan kadar hemoglobin, p= 0,035 dan r=0,763. Remaja putri yang tidak memiliki kebiasaan sarapan berisiko 6 kali untuk mempunyai kadar Hb yang rendah dibandingkan dengan remaja putri yang memiliki kebiasaan sarapan.
... Widenhorn-Müller et al. conducted a crossover study on young people (13 -20 years old) where cognitive functioning and mood was measured after breakfast or breakfast omission 16 . In accordance with the results of present study, Widenhorn-Müller did not show improvements in concentration and sustained attention measured by the test of sustained attention. ...
Breakfast clubs has been suggested as a promising intervention in schools to improve the eating habits of young people and to contribute to better learning outcomes. Aim: This intervention measured the impact of Breakfast provision on students, cognitive functions in a vocational school setting. Methods: Young people (n=314) attending four vocational schools were included in the randomized controlled study and intervention schools received free breakfast for four months. Cognitive functions were assessed after breakfast at baseline, first and second follow-up. The cognitive functions measured were attention and concentration in the visual cancellation test called the d2 Test of attention. The outcomes were total processed characters and concentration performance. Results: No significant change was found for total processed characters (P=0.227) in the d2 Test of attention. Students' concentration performance was not significant different (P=0.185) after provision of free breakfast in intervention schools compared to control schools. Conclusion: In this study free available breakfast did not have an impact on attention and concentration measured after provision. Introduction Promoting healthier eating through provision of food and meals in settings for young people has become a common strategy due to its potential beneficial effects 1. Setting-based healthy eating strategies are suggested to affect eating patterns and health 2. Further, provision of school meals in high-income countries have been hypothesised to generally affect educational and cognitive functions in a positive manner. However, the research in this area show mixed results 3 .
... The assumptions about the benefit of breakfast for a school age child's learning are based on evidence demonstrating the acute effects of breakfast on children's cognitive performance obtained from laboratory-based experimental studies or studies that are specifically looking at one grade in one area/school for a limited number of years. Studies generally demonstrate that eating breakfast has a positive effect on a child's cognitive performance, specifically in the areas of memory and attention (Wesnes et al. (2003(Wesnes et al. ( , 2012; Widenhorn-Müller et al. (2008); Pivik et al. (2012); Cooper et al. (2012Cooper et al. ( , 2011) Additionally, the positive effects of breakfast are more demonstrable in children who are considered undernourished, typically defined as one standard deviation below normal height or weight for age using the US National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference. (Pollitt et al. (2009);Cueto et al. (1998)) Many studies have also shown that children who eat breakfast at school or closer to class and test-taking time perform better on standardized tests than those who skip breakfast or eat breakfast at home. ...
This paper investigates the relationship between student test scores and conflict outcomes in Texas public schools and whether or not schools participated in the Universal Free Breakfast Program (UFB). Eating a routine breakfast leads to increased physical and mental performance, as well as test scores. Surprisingly, there has been little focus on how eating a routine breakfast affects disruptive behaviors including violence, truancy, and other classroom incidents. I compile a panel data set from two administrative sources in Texas, spanning school years. Using fixed effects models, I find that schools that offer UFB do indeed have higher test scores, and also have reduced conflict outcomes such as fights, substance abuse, and truancy. I also employ a fuzzy regression discontinuity that shows strong results when the 80% free and reduced eligibility cutoff was passed in 2015. The affect applies to all levels of schooling. Using quantile regressions, I compare the magnitude of the total effect between schools with low and high preexisting conflict reports, showing that higher conflict schools do receive a greater benefit from taking part in UFB. These results suggest that the benefit schools receive from taking part in the UFB help their students achieve better outcomes in both schooling, behavior, and general well-being, and increase funding from lower truancy rates.
... Unadjusted and adjusted multivariate linear regression models were fit to test the relationship between food groups and Stroop test score ratio. Potential confounders in the association between dietary pattern and cognitive measure were identified from relevant literature and were individually tested for predictive power using a log likelihood test [8,23,24,[50][51][52]. These included age, sex, BMI for age Z-score, race/ethnicity, maternal and paternal education level, breakfast consumption on the day of the tests, and mean moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels (MVPA). ...
Nutrition plays an important role in proper physical and cognitive functioning. However, there is limited evidence on the relationship between overall diet, cognition, and academic success in children, particularly among low-income and diverse groups. The objective of this study was to examine the relationships between healthful versus less healthful food group intake, cognitive performance, and academic achievement in a diverse sample of schoolchildren. 868 urban schoolchildren (age 8 to 10 years) participated in the study. Intake of healthful (fruits, vegetables, unsweetened beverages) and less healthful (sweet and salty snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages) food groups was determined via a food frequency questionnaire. Digit Span and Stroop test scores were used to assess cognitive performance. Academic achievement was assessed via standardized test scores. Multiple Poisson and multiple linear regression were used to test the associations between diet and cognitive scores. Multiple ordered logistic regression was used to assess the associations between diet and academic achievement. Potential confounders (age, sex, body mass index (BMI) z-score, race/ethnicity, English language learner status, individualized education plan enrollment, physical activity, and parent education level) were tested for inclusion in all models. The sample included 868 children (56.7% girls; 33.2% non-Hispanic white, 26.2% Hispanic, 17.1% multiracial/other, 8.3% non-Hispanic black; 40.5% overweight/obese). The most frequently consumed foods were fruits and sweet snacks (1.9 and 1.6 servings per day, respectively). There were no statistically significant associations between diet and cognitive test scores. Greater intake of less healthful food groups (sweet snacks, salty snacks, and sweetened beverages) was associated with lower math (OR = 0.91, CI [0.84, 0.98], p = 0.014) and English standardized test scores (OR = 0.87, CI [0.80, 0.94, p = 0.001). Greater intake of sweet snacks and fruits was associated with lower English scores (OR = 0.72, 95% CI [0.59, 0.88] p = 0.001; and OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.72, 0.94] p = 0.003, respectively). Consumption of less healthful food groups was associated with poorer academic achievement. Further research may shed light on unexpected associations between fruit consumption and achievement. Policies targeting multiple dietary components may positively influence child academic achievement and development.
... Significant effects of breakfast consumption on blood lipid levels, blood pressure, or insulin resistance were found in overweight/obese male participants, while no significant effects were found among female participants, Effects of eating breakfast on children and adolescents Effects of eating breakfast on children and adolescents Effects of eating breakfast on children and adolescents (27). Widenhorn-Müller showed beneficial effects of breakfast on short-term memory and mood but not on sustained attention (40). ...
Background:
Breakfast is often described as the most important meal of the day. Several studies have focused on examining if breakfast habits have any short-term effects on school attendance, academic achievement, and general health in children and adolescents. Informed decisions of whether to promote eating breakfast or not require a more long-term perspective.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of scientific publications studying the effects identified as potentially relevant for the economic evaluation of eating breakfast in children and adolescents.
Design:
A systematic literature review was conducted. Studies were identified by searching the electronic databases PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsycINFO between January 2000 and October 2017. The inclusion criteria applied were published articles from peer-reviewed journals with full text in English, quantitative studies collecting primary data with school-aged children, and adolescents aged from 6 to 18 years as participants, performed entirely or partly in countries with advanced economies, except Japan and Taiwan.
Results:
Twenty-six studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and studies that were judged to be of at least moderate quality were included in the analysis. The results of the review of eating breakfast studies showed positive and conclusive effects on cognitive performance, academic achievement, quality of life, well-being and on morbidity risk factors.
Conclusions:
The overall assessment of the studies indicated positive effects of eating breakfast. How the identified effects influence societal costs and an individual's quality-adjusted life years require further research.
... Research on breakfast includes both experimental studies of the short-term effects of breakfast eating, and longer-term effects studied through survey research. Within the same students, skipping breakfast showed negative influences on both memory and alertness, which could have adverse effects on academic learning [214]. Students who skip breakfast have lower school performance, and this relationship is partially mediated by attention [215]. ...
In today’s research environment, children’s diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors are commonly studied in the context of health, independent of their effect on cognition and learning. Moreover, there is little overlap between the two literatures, although it is reasonable to expect that the lifestyle factors explored in the health-focused research are intertwined with cognition and learning processes. This thematic review provides an overview of knowledge connecting the selected lifestyle factors of diet, physical activity, and sleep hygiene to children’s cognition and learning. Research from studies of diet and nutrition, physical activity and fitness, sleep, and broader influences of cultural and socioeconomic factors related to health and learning, were summarized to offer examples of research that integrate lifestyle factors and cognition with learning. The literature review demonstrates that the associations and causal relationships between these factors are vastly understudied. As a result, current knowledge on predictors of optimal cognition and learning is incomplete, and likely lacks understanding of many critical facts and relationships, their interactions, and the nature of their relationships, such as there being mediating or confounding factors that could provide important knowledge to increase the efficacy of learning-focused interventions. This review provides information focused on studies in children. Although basic research in cells or animal studies are available and indicate a number of possible physiological pathways, inclusion of those data would distract from the fact that there is a significant gap in knowledge on lifestyle factors and optimal learning in children. In a climate where childcare and school feeding policies are continuously discussed, this thematic review aims to provide an impulse for discussion and a call for more holistic approaches to support child development.
... Many adverse effects resulting from skipping breakfast have been described. In students aged 6-20 from Europe (France, Spain, Ireland), United States, and Japan, breakfast skipping was associated with poorer diet quality [1][2][3][4], worse mood [5,6], educational progress, and cognitive function development, including worse academic achievements [7][8][9] and increased risk of obesity [10][11][12][13][14][15][16], markers of insulin resistance [10,17], and cardiometabolic risk factors [10,11,15,18]. The poorer diet quality of breakfast skippers was attributed to worse food choices, e.g., lower consumption of dairy foods, cereal products, fruits and vegetables, and higher consumption of energy-dense snack foods, which resulted in lower intakes of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein [2,7]. ...
Little is known on skipping breakfast and a meal at school, especially considered together. The study identified nutrition knowledge-related, lifestyle (including diet quality, physical activity, and screen time) and socioeconomic correlates of skipping breakfast and a meal at school, considered together or alone and assessed the association of skipping these meals with adiposity markers in Polish teenagers. The sample consisted of 1566 fourth and fifth grade elementary school students (11–13 years). The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Data related to the consumption of selected food items and meals, physical activity, screen time, sociodemographic factors, and nutrition knowledge (all self-reported) were collected (in 2015–2016) with a short form of a food frequency questionnaire. Respondents reported the usual consumption of breakfast (number of days/week) and a meal or any food eaten at school (number of school days/week) labelled as ‘a meal at school’. The measurements of body weight, height, and waist circumference were taken. BMI-for-age ≥25 kg/m2 was considered as a marker of overweight/obesity (general adiposity), while waist-to-height ratio ≥0.5 as a marker of central obesity (central adiposity). A multivariate logistic regression was applied to verify the association between variables. A total of 17.4% of teenagers frequently skipped breakfast (4–7 days/week), 12.9% frequently skipped a meal at school (3–5 school days/week), while 43.6% skipped both of these meals a few times a week. Predictors of skipping breakfast and/or a meal at school were female gender, age over 12 years, urban residence, lower family affluence, lower nutrition knowledge, higher screen time, and lower physical activity. In comparison to “never-skippers,” “frequent breakfast skippers” were more likely to be overweight/obese (odds ratio, OR 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 95%CI 1.38, 2.58) and centrally obese (OR 1.63; 95%CI 1.09, 2.44), while skippers a few times a week of both of these meals were more likely to be overweight/obese (OR 1.37; 95%CI 1.06, 1.78). Concluding, we estimated that a large percentage of Polish teenagers (approx. 44%) usually skipped both breakfast and a meal at school a few times a week. Similar predictors of skipping breakfast and predictors of skipping a meal at school were identified. Special attention should be paid to promoting shortening screen time and increasing physical activity and teenagers’ nutrition knowledge which are relatively easily modifiable correlates. The study shows that skipping both of these meals a few times a week was associated with general adiposity and also strengthens previous evidence showing the association of frequent skipping breakfast with general and central adiposity.
... That findings near to our study findings although in Ethiopia poverty and food security are problems but in our study low socio economic status might be cause of same findings. In above said study underweight increase significantly with an increase in age, family size, and order of birth and in the absence of hand washing facility [9,10]. As study conducted among primary school going children of Lahore aged 5-12 year were participated in that study, 32% children were found under nutrition or thin [11]. ...
Background: Children's health is very important for their better learning and timely nourishment everywhere in the world. Malnutrition among school going children has remained a big challenge in under developed countries. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 children of four Government Primary schools of Qasimabad, district Hyderabad after taking the proper consent and administration approval from the head of school. Multi stage simple random sampling technique was adopted. Study was approved from Institutional review board of Health Services Academy Islamabad. Results: Out of total, 217 (51.4%) were boys and 205 (48.6%) were girls. Mean Height of boys and girls were 128.09 cm (±SD 12.90) and 130.36 cm (±SD 12.50) respectively. Mean Weight of boys was 25.27 Kgs (±SD 6.17) while in girls mean Weight was 26.83 Kgs (±SD 7.03). 17.57 cm (±SD 2.34) was mean MUAC for all participants and mean BMI was 15.42 (±SD 2.02). Prevalent of stunting and wasting were 24.4% and 18.3% respectively. While in 13.7% thinness (BMI for age) was seen. Stunting was statistically significant in girls 9-10 year (p value=.015, CI: .118-.823, OR=.311) and 11-≥12 years (p value=.018, CI: .215-.874, OR=.434). Pallor was more in girls (17%) and Dental caries were higher in boys (20.8%). Insufficient breakfast was done by 347 (82.2%), whereas 75 (17.8%) were doing sufficient breakfast. 341 (80.8%) students became ill during last year, out of that 80 (19%) were having history of hospitalization. Conclusion: Poor polices and lack of food aid interventions regarding health of primary school going children was assessed during this study.
... This finding is similar to the findings of another study in which not wanting breakfast (negative feeling) was regarded as a major cause of not having breakfast among students (25). On the other hand, a positive feeling about eating breakfast induces repetitive behavior as in previous studies; students who regularly ate breakfast stated that after breakfast they had more positive feelings, they were more alert (26), and also, in most cases, were more focused and felt less tired, abdominal pain or backache (27). The next determinant was interpersonal influences that, both directly and indirectly, influenced breakfast consumption by reducing barriers to improving this behavior. ...
Background and Aim
Despite the importance of breakfast, especially for students, unfortunately, this meal is usually ignored in daily routine. The aim of this study was to identify determinants among female high school students of Yazd province based on the Pender Health Promotion Model.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional study conducted to examine 200 female high school students of Yazd, selected by cluster sampling method in 2016. A researcher-made questionnaire, based on Pender’s Health Promotion Model, was used as a data collection tool. A panel of experts and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were used to confirm the questionnaire validity and reliability. In order to analyze descriptive data, SPSS version 22 was used. AMOS software (v.23) was employed for path analysis.
Results
Direct impact of activity –related affect (0.300), interpersonal influences (0.276), and perceived barriers to eating breakfast (−0.223) were approved at significance level p<0.000. By influencing perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy and previous related behavior indirectly affected breakfast consumption. These components determined 33% of breakfast consumption.
Conclusion
By planning to create a positive feeling in students to have breakfast, to involve family and friends to encourage students to eat breakfast, to reduce barriers to have breakfast by increasing students’ self-efficacy, the behavior of having breakfast among students can be improved.
... Good health and nutrition is the basic need to achieved adolescent's full educational potential because good nutrition effect on educational development and good learning ability of adolescents. 6 The influence of nutrition education regarding balanced diet and physical activity among adolescents about the knowledge is significant at α level of 0.005. Adolescent's knowledge improved significantly in areas such as balanced diet, meal consumption intervals and consumptions of fluids through-out the day. ...
Breakfast omission can essentially impact daily activities and academic performance, leading to diminished energy, poor concentration, mood disturbances, and potentially lower academic accomplishment. Advancing the significance of a nutritious breakfast and ensuring access to such meals is crucial for physical and cognitive prosperity. Examine the effect of breakfast exclusion on daily activities and insightful achievement in specific people. This study intends to evaluate the potential significance of findings in the context of education, students' health, and overall success, thus focusing on existing exploration gaps. The null Hypothesis posits no significant relationship exists between breakfast omission and daily activities or academic achievement, while Alternate Hypothesis suggests a significant relationship exists between breakfast omission and a decline in daily activities and academic achievement. This exhaustive review, approved by the FRPMC Ethical Committee, employed a cross-sectional design with a sample of 400 students. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed during a non-exam period, with statistical analysis conducted utilizing SPSS version 22. It will be a cross-sectional study based on primary data gathered through a FRPMC, Karachi, Pakistan survey. Findings underscore the strong link between skipping breakfast and adverse outcomes, including cognitive function impairment, mood instability, and compromised overall well-being, emphasizing the essential role of breakfast in both physiological health and academic success.
Though composed sometime between 600 and 300 BCE, the Upaniṣads are still read by many today. Apart from the material itself, there is also scope, to delineate the teaching methods used by these texts. The Upaniṣadic pedagogy is unique with respect to setting, teacher-student relationships, pre-requisites and qualifications, active learning, questioning and experimentation. As pedagogy is a growing area of interest for psychologists and educators this chapter will prove to be an asset in the development of teaching methods that apply Upaniṣadic principles for the modern classroom. Several techniques used in these texts have the potential to increase student motivation, interest, metacognition, understanding, application and achievement and even mould future teachers. The chapter is designed to develop an appreciation for an indigenous method of teaching that is practically applicable.
There have been reports from teachers of pupils in the United Kingdom arriving at school hungry. Poor nutritional intake during childhood can increase the risk of developing both short‐ and long‐term health problems. Breakfast consumption has been associated with several outcomes including better diet quality and healthier weight status. Nevertheless, skipping breakfast is a frequent behaviour in young people, particularly adolescents, and those from lower socio‐economic groups, who are less likely to meet dietary recommendations and nutritional targets. The aim of this narrative review is to explore the contribution of breakfast consumption at home or at school and the impact of breakfast skipping on nutrient intakes in school‐aged children (aged 4–18 years), and their effect on weight and cardiometabolic health. We will also summarise evidence for a link with cognitive function and educational attainment. A broadly positive effect of breakfast intake on diet quality, weight status and school‐related outcomes was found in the literature, although inconsistencies in findings and methodological limitations within the evidence base are notable. Further research is warranted to better understand impact of breakfast intake and school breakfast provision on longer‐term learning, educational attainment and health outcomes. This also needs to consider the cost benefit, type of breakfast and any unintended consequences such as encouraging multiple breakfasts. Breakfast consumption could improve the nutritional intakes of the most vulnerable young people and may help to address inequalities in educational outcomes at least in the short term.
Skipping breakfast is an irregular feeding behavior, typically in young people. In our previous study, we established a 4 h-delayed feeding protocol for rats as a breakfast-skipping model and showed that the 4 h-delayed feeding of a high-fat diet led to body weight gain in rats. Excess sucrose induces metabolic syndrome and fatty liver. Recently, excess sucrose intake has received increased attention. Young people generally consume more sugar than adults do. In the present study, we investigated whether a 4 h-delayed feeding promoted high-sucrose diet-induced abnormalities in lipid metabolism, such as fatty liver and obesity in rats. The 4 h-delayed feeding rats showed increased body weight gain, although it did not induce fatty liver and hyperlipidemia compared to normal feeding rats. Serum insulin concentration during the feeding period was higher than in the control rats, suggesting that slight insulin resistance was induced by the 4 h-delayed feeding. The surge in body temperature was also delayed by 4 h in response to the 4 h-delayed feeding. This delay would result in less energy expenditure to increase body weight. The oscillations of hepatic lipid and glucose metabolism-related gene expression were delayed by almost 2–4 h, and the clock genes were delayed by approximately 2 h. The 4 h-delayed feeding induced weight gain by affecting body temperature, insulin resistance, and circadian oscillation of lipid metabolism-related genes in rats fed a high-sucrose diet, suggesting that a high sucrose intake with breakfast skipping leads to obesity.
Deviant eating behavior such as skipping meals and consuming unhealthy meals has a significant association with mental well-being in college students. However, there is more to what an individual eats. While eating patterns form a critical component of their mental well-being, insights and assessments related to the interplay of eating patterns and mental well-being remain under-explored in theory and practice. To bridge this gap, we use an existing real-time eating detection system that captures context during meals to examine how college students’ eating context associates with their mental well-being, particularly their affect, anxiety, depression, and stress. Our findings suggest that students’ irregularity or skipping meals negatively correlates with their mental well-being, whereas eating with family and friends positively correlates with improved mental well-being. We discuss the implications of our study in designing dietary intervention technologies and guiding student-centric well-being technologies.
Breakfast is a vital meal that provides children with important nutrients and energy. This study examined the anthropometric, familial-and lifestyle-related characteristics of school children skipping breakfast. A total of 1149 children (boys: 45.5%), 6 to 12 years old (mean and SD: 9.3 ± 1.7 years), were randomly selected from elementary schools in Jeddah. Weight and height were measured. Breakfast eating frequency, socio-demographics, and lifestyle behaviors were assessed using a specifically designed self-report questionnaire reported by the parents. Nearly 80% of the children skipped daily breakfast at home with no significant age or gender differences. The most common reasons for skipping breakfast at home included not feeling hungry and waking up late for school. Fried egg sandwiches and breakfast cereals were most frequently consumed for breakfast. Strong parental support for breakfast as the main daily meal was significantly associated with daily breakfast intake. Logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age, gender, and socio-demographics, revealed that paternal education (aOR = 1.212, 95% CI = 1.020-1.440, p = 0.029), maternal education (aOR = 1.212, 95% CI = 1.003-1.464, p=0.046), insufficient sleep (aOR = 0.735, 95% CI = 0.567-0.951, p = 0.019), and BMI <25 kg/m 2 (aOR = 1.333, 95% CI = 1.015-1.752, p = 0.039) were significantly associated with breakfast intake. The findings have implications for children's health and school performance. Concerted effort is required to promote breakfast consumption among Saudi children.
Background
There is a lack of data regarding breakfast consumption and quality among college students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Objective
The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of breakfast consumption and examine the effect of breakfast location on breakfast nutritional quality and obesity risk among female college students at Taibah University.
Methods
A total of 658 students participated in this cross-sectional study. Based on the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) recommendations, breakfast quality scores were computed by summing the individual food components and categorizing participants according to tertiles of the breakfast score distribution. Mixed-effects repeatedmeasures models were used to examine BMI categories with increasing tertiles of breakfast quality scores, stratified by breakfast location.
Results and Discussion
Approximately 68% of participants reported eating breakfast regularly. The mean breakfast quality score was determined for students who had breakfast at home (12.5 ± 0.11), at college (10.41± 0.06), and in other places (8.19± 0.48). Obesity was associated with lower average breakfast quality scores based on breakfast location [mean quintile 3 compared with 1 difference: home 13.6 (P < 0.001), college 9.1 (P < 0.001), other 8.6 (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
The findings presented here indicated that a high percentage of students consume breakfast regularly. Students who ate breakfast at home had high scores, which indicated good breakfast quality and a decreased risk of obesity. Further research on breakfast quality is needed in this area, as it affects the nutritional status and quality of life of the younger population.
Breakfast is most important meal of the day and usually taken after night fast or after a long gap. Various health surveys and cross‐sectional studies reported morning meal positive effect on memory recall, children performance, mood, work performance, cognitive function, women health like irregular mensuration and reduction in obesity and effect on body mass index. Still people skip breakfast throughout the world due to several reasons like lack of time, family environment, single‐parent family, not feeling hunger in morning or having several misconceptions like thinking of being obese. Skipping morning meal has an adverse effect on health. This review focuses on awareness of breakfast and its positive impact on health as the breakfast skipping trend is increasing around the world and also drawing the attention of researchers to develop convenient, nutritious breakfast options and awareness programmes for significance of breakfast.
Although research has highlighted the importance of home experience and especially of play in early brain development, the value of this factor for executive function (EF) development has not received the attention it deserves. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the link between parental play beliefs and preschoolers’ play frequency at home on the one hand and their EF skills on the other. Additionally, other types of home activities were also assessed. A total of 102 preschoolers (45 girls; mean age = 62.08 months; SD = 7.66 months; range, 50–74 months) with their parents (mean age = 35.21 years; SD = 6.96 years) representing low to middle socioeconomic status (SES) families in Ethiopia participated in the study. Results revealed that children’s home activities (frequency of breakfast at home, spending mealtime together with family, participation in peer play, participation in pretend play, and participation in arts and crafts) and parental play support were significantly positively correlated with their performance on EF tasks. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for age and SES showed that parental play support and frequency of breakfast at home were medium-sized predictors (β = 0.36, p < 0.001 and β = 0.31, p = 0.001, respectively) explaining a significant level of variance in inhibitory control, while participation in arts and crafts at home was a significant predictor (β = 0.22, p = 0.03) of children’s performance on a visual–spatial working memory (VSWM) task. In conclusion, parental play support and preschoolers’ home activities are important factors linked with EF development in early childhood.
Brazil nuts are rich in important nutrients including unsaturated fatty acids and fiber and are the highest known food source of selenium. Selenium has exhibited a multitude of health benefits including increased antioxidant capacity, improvement of lipid profiles, insulin and glucose responses, and elevation of mood. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of Brazil nut consumption on postprandial satiety, glucose, insulin, antioxidant activity, and anxiety in healthy subjects. In a crossover design with two trials, 22 healthy adults (age 25 ± 4.94 years, BMI 22.3 ± 3.29 kg/m2) consumed pretzels (36 g) and isocaloric, sodium-matched Brazil nuts (20 g), separated by a 48-h washout period. A visual analogue scale measured satiety at baseline, 20 and 40 min after snack consumption. Anxiety (via modified STAI), blood glucose, insulin, and antioxidant levels were measured at baseline and 40 min. Both the Brazil nuts and pretzels increased satiety with greater satiety in Brazil nuts compared to pretzels (P = 0.049). Each snack also decreased anxiety (P = 0.020) from baseline to 40 min post-consumption with no significant differences between the two trials. Pretzel consumption caused a significant increase in blood glucose and insulin (P < 0.001) at 40 min post-consumption compared to baseline, while Brazil nut consumption did not significantly increase either level. Brazil nut consumption improved postprandial satiety and stabilized glucose and insulin responses compared to baseline, which warrants further studies on reducing overall food intake and preventing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and weight gain.
BACKGROUND
School breakfast is an important nutritional component of a student's day. Many schools operate a school breakfast program, but high schools have low rates of participation. This study aimed to investigate the economic impact on school food service, of expanding the school breakfast program to increase participation in high schools.
METHODS
Ten rural high schools participated in the economic analysis of expanding their school breakfast program. Schools provided data on costs of daily operation and start‐up costs. Analyses calculated the daily breakeven point, revenue, cost, and days needed to recoup costs.
RESULTS
Schools sold enough breakfast meals to break even on daily costs of operating an expanded program. Schools saw daily profits ranging from 196–432 and recouped costs associated with expanding the breakfast program within 15–46 days.
CONCLUSIONS
Expanding the school breakfast program can be economical for schools, while increasing student exposure to the health and academic benefits of school breakfast.
Purpose
This study was designed to examine the relationship between parents’ involvement related to their alertness of what happens in school and their identification with school and their children’s attitudes toward school, social adjustment, self-efficacy, and academic achievements
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were answered by 339 parents and 343 students, and yielded 34 parents whose levels of identification with school and alertness were low, and 57 parents whose levels were high. Path analysis was used (Structural Equation Model, SEM). The theoretical model was tested by a software AMOS 7.0
Findings
Involvement characterized by low identification and alertness predicted a direct, significant, and negative relationship with children’s self-efficacy; Alertness predicted a direct, significant, and negative relationship with self-efficacy. The group with high identification and alertness predicted a direct, significant, and positive relationship of their identification with children’s self-efficacy.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is recommended because of the small sample in this study. In addition, Especially, recommended to add to the study parents whose identification is low and their alertness is high.
Practical implications
The way to solve problems is not by mutual accusations, but by trusting each other. Parents and school must create useful communication channels and forums for straightening out issues and find solution through cooperation.
Originality/value
This paper reveals that parents’ alienation from school is a predictor of their children’s negative functioning in school. This document is intended for school principals, educational staff, and parents to improve students' functioning.
The aim of the present study was to investigate possible short and longer term benefits of having cornflakes for breakfast. One hundred volunteers were assigned to either the cornflakes condition or "no breakfast" condition for 14 days. At the start and end of the study volunteers came into the laboratory and rated their mood and carried out performance tests. The volunteers then had cornflakes or nothing before completing the tests again. Volunteers continued to consume the cornflakes or nothing throughout the study and rated their health and well-being by completing questionnaires every 7 days. The results showed that the acute effects of consumption of cornflakes were a more positive mood and better recall of a list of words. The cornflakes group were 12.3% more alert than the no breakfast group. The weekly questionnaires also revealed longer term benefits of consuming cornflakes. Those consuming cornflakes reported they felt more rested after sleep, had less constipation, less emotional distress, fewer cognitive difficulties (problems of memory and attention), fewer symptoms and a more positive mood. These effects were apparent for both weeks.
Various physiological and psychological factors are thought to be important in determining energy intake and meal control. This thesis focuses on two such factors: dietary learning and individual differences in interoception (the ability to detect internal bodily signals). Chapters 4 and 5, focus primarily on flavour-nutrient learning, which refers to instances where associations develop between a foods orosensory properties (e.g., flavour, texture) and the post-ingestive consequences of consumption (e.g., satiety, pleasure). Some weak evidence was observed for this form of learning, with individuals believing a flavour was more rewarding if it had previously been paired with a high rather than low-energy dairy breakfast. These studies also revealed that individuals may form dietary associations where they experience a sense of surprise satiety after eating. Specifically, individuals who felt fuller than they had initially anticipated, showed a large change in how filling they expected the food to be in the future. This ‘surprise satiety’ finding is exciting as the concept of surprise does not appear to have been applied to dietary learning before. The second theme of research focused on the role individual differences in interoception (the ability to detect internal bodily signals) may have upon different dietary behaviours (chapters 5-9). This revealed little evidence to suggest that interoceptive variability might influence: dietary learning (chapter 5), decisions individuals make about portion size (chapter 6), whether the negative effects of consuming large meals on post-prandial cognitive function are anticipated (chapter 7), the propensity to exhibit different eating traits (external, emotional and restrained eating) (chapter 8), and whether having a strong sense of internal bodily signals and being able to form a clear memory for foods eaten combine, to reduce later intake and attentional biases towards foods (chapter 9). In conclusion, unanticipated fullness appears to be an exciting prospect for future research in human dietary learning. In contrast, there was little evidence to suggest that individual variation in interoception might influence eating behaviours.
This study examined relationships between Parents’ involvement as related to their Identification and Alertness and to four students’ variables Attitudes toward school, Social adjustment, Self-efficacy and Academic achievements. Social adjustment was the most dominant variable and served as a mediator between self-efficacy and achievements. Parental involvement had significant, direct and positive relations with social adjustment but negative with academic achievements. Findings indicate a weakening of the relationships between parents’ involvement, identification, and alertness and children’s variables compared to the relationships between children’s variables. Educational staff and parents must create useful communication channels for helping children cope with the challenges of their social and media world.
El libro "Perfil Nutricional de Escolares de Hidalgo 2010 (PENUTEH): estado de nutrición de escolares y variables del contexto familiar, escolar e individual", es producto de la coordinación interinstitucional del Sistema Estatal para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, la Secretaría de Salud de Hidalgo y la Secretaría de Educación Pública de Hidalgo. El PENUTEH constituye el primer precedente del diagnóstico nutricional integral de los escolares de Hidalgo, su realización en una muestra representativa permite reportar datos a nivel estatal, municipal y por tipo de escuela.Su publicación tiene por objetivo brindar información a los tomadores de decisiones para orientar las acciones y las políticas públicas de alimentación, salud y educación en la entidad.
This paper reviews three experiments on the effects of an overnight and morning fast on attention and memory processes among 9-11-y-old children. Two of the experiments focused on middle-class, well-nourished boys and girls in the United States: the third involved boys from low-income families with and without nutritional risk in Huaraz, Peru. All experiments used the same crossover design and followed similar experimental procedures to control the subjects' intakes and motor activity during the study period. The children were admitted to a research center on two different evenings, approximately 7 d apart. After arrival the children ate dinner, played table games or watched television, and went to bed. They were awakened at 0730 and, by design, were either served breakfast (approximately 2301 kJ) or not. At 1100 they took psychologic tests that assessed recall from working memory and competence in discriminating visual stimuli. At 1200 the children were discharged. The consequences of the overnight and morning fast, particularly among the children who were nutritionally at risk, included slower stimulus discrimination, increased errors, and slower memory recall. We propose that these alterations result from a state of metabolic stress in which homeostatic mechanisms work to maintain circulating glucose concentrations.
We examined breakfast consumption patterns and trends between 1965 and 1991 for children (1-10 y old) and adolescents (11-18 y old) in the United States. The analysis was undertaken by pooling nationally representative samples obtained from the Nationwide Food Consumption Surveys of 1965 and 1977-1978 and the 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. Breakfast consumption, defined as the consumption of food, beverage, or both between 0500 and 1000, was the focus of the trends analysis. Descriptive results indicated a decline in breakfast consumption between 1965 and 1991, particularly for older adolescents aged 15-18 y; the rates for boys and girls declined from 89.7% and 84.4%, respectively, in 1965 to 74.9% and 64.7%, respectively, in 1991. Multivariate results indicated that breakfast consumption declined predominantly because of behavioral changes and not the population's changing sociodemographic patterns. The nutritional quality of foods consumed at breakfast has improved since 1965, with significant shifts toward consumption of lower-fat milk and smaller changes in other food groups. The improvement over time in the quality of food consumed at breakfast, however, is offset by the large percentage of persons aged > or = 11 y who do not presently consume breakfast. Given the association of obesity with less frequent breakfast consumption and the rise in obesity among persons of this age group, a renewed emphasis on the importance of breakfast is warranted.
The impact of nutritional variation, within populations not overtly malnourished, on cognitive function and arousal is considered. The emphasis is on susceptibility to acute effects of meals and glucose loads, and chronic effects of dieting, on mental performance, and effects of cholesterol and vitamin levels on cognitive impairment. New developments in understanding dietary influences on neurohormonal systems, and their implications for cognition and affect, allow reinterpretation of both earlier and recent findings. Evidence for a detrimental effect of omitting a meal on cognitive performance remains equivocal: from the outset, idiosyncrasy has prevailed. Yet, for young and nutritionally vulnerable children, breakfast is more likely to benefit than hinder performance. For nutrient composition, despite inconsistencies, some cautious predictions can be made. Acutely, carbohydrate-rich-protein-poor meals can be sedating and anxiolytic; by comparison, protein-rich meals may be arousing, improving reaction time but also increasing unfocused vigilance. Fat-rich meals can lead to a decline in alertness, especially where they differ from habitual fat intake. These acute effects may vary with time of day and nutritional status. Chronically, protein-rich diets have been associated with decreased positive and increased negative affect relative to carbohydrate-rich diets. Probable mechanisms include diet-induced changes in monoamine, especially serotoninergic neurotransmitter activity, and functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. Effects are interpreted in the context of individual traits and susceptibility to challenging, even stressful, tests of performance. Preoccupation with dieting may impair cognition by interfering with working memory capacity, independently of nutritional status. The change in cognitive performance after administration of glucose, and other foods, may depend on the level of sympathetic activation, glucocorticoid secretion, and pancreatic beta-cell function, rather than simple fuelling of neural activity. Thus, outcomes can be predicted by vulnerability in coping with stressful challenges, interacting with nutritional history and neuroendocrine status. Functioning of such systems may be susceptible to dietary influences on neural membrane fluidity, and vitamin-dependent cerebrovascular health, with cognitive vulnerability increasing with age.
Experimental shift work studios have typically found body temperature and performance efficiency to show very similar circadian rhythms. However, the performance tasks used have placed little, if any, reliance on short term memory. Studies of the variation in performance during the normal waking day have found performance on most tasks to improve over the day but that on short term memory tasks to decrease. The present paper reports an experimental study of the performance of two subjects on a rapidly rotating (-2-2) shift system. Three versions of a now performance test, each with a different memory load, wore administered four times per shift. With the low memory load version, performance showed a high positive correlation with body temperature and was poor during the night shift. However, with the high memory load version, performance was negatively correlated with temperature and was best during the night shift. It is concluded that future shift work studies must take into account the memory load of the task under investigation.
We examined the effects of omitting breakfast on the cognitive functions of three groups of children: stunted, nonstunted controls, and previously severely malnourished. They were admitted to a metabolic ward twice. After an overnight fast half the children received breakfast on their first visit and a cup of tea the second time. The treatment order was reversed for the other half. When breakfast was omitted, both the stunted and previously malnourished groups responded similarly. The malnourished groups had lower scores in fluency and coding whereas the control group had higher scores in arithmetic. The children were divided into wasted and nonwasted groups. Wasted children were adversely affected in the digit span backwards tests, and wasted members of the malnourished groups were adversely affected in efficiency of problem solving and those in the control group in digit span forwards. These results indicate that cognitive functions are more vulnerable to missing breakfast in poorly nourished children.
Eight divers performed an addition test and a screwplate test of manual dexterity in the open sea under four conditions—-breathing either air or an oxy-helium mixture and working at a depth of either 10 or 200 ft. Speed of addition was impaired at depth for both air (19.9 per cent) and helium (14.8 per cent), while errors increased only on air (from 5.9 to 21.1 per cent). The manual dexterity test also showed a decrement in speed for both air (46.7 per cent) and helium (31.8 per cent), and air divers lost more screws at depth (11.1 per cent) than at 10 ft (4.7 per cent). While a decrement at depth was expected in the air dives, the considerable impairment shown on oxy-helium dives was not. A further experiment was therefore run in a dry pressure chamber to study the effects of breathing oxy-helium at pressure when the additional stresses associated with deep diving in the open sea were absent. At a pressure equivalent to 200 ft of water, there was a 10 per cent impairment in speed on both the screwplate (p
Normal adult subjects (n = 184) consumed a high-protein or high-carbohydrate meal. Two hours later their mood and performance were tested. The effects of meal composition on mood were different for men and women, and for older and younger subjects. Females, but not males, reported greater sleepiness after a carbohydrate as opposed to a protein meal. Male subjects, but not females, reported greater calmness after a carbohydrate as opposed to a protein meal. Older subjects responded differently to meals depending upon the time of day when these were consumed. When meals were eaten for breakfast (but not for lunch) individuals 40 yr of age or older felt more tense and less calm after a protein than after a carbohydrate meal. Although older subjects reported subjective discomfort after a morning protein meal, they displayed objective performance impairments after a carbohydrate lunch. Subjects 40 yr of age or older were impaired on a test of sustained selective attention (dichotic shadowing) after consuming a high-carbohydrate lunch. The shadowing impairment after carbohydrate consumption was as pronounced without distraction as with distraction and resulted mostly from increased omission errors. Our findings suggest negative effects on concentration when older subjects consume a high-carbohydrate, low-protein lunch. These negative effects of carbohydrate consumption appear to arise predominantly from lapses of attention rather than from intrusion of distractors.
School feeding programs exist in many countries, but few have been properly evaluated. In this study, the short-term effects of breakfast on children's cognitive functions were examined. The subjects were 97 undernourished (weight-for-age < or = -1 SD of reference) and 100 adequately nourished (weight-for-age > -1 SD) children in four primary schools in rural Jamaica. The children were randomly assigned to a group provided with breakfast or a group given a quarter of an orange as a placebo, and then given a battery of four cognitive function tests. After a few weeks the treatments were reversed and the tests repeated. Undernourished children's performance improved significantly on a test of verbal fluency when they received breakfast, whereas that of the adequately nourished children did not change (breakfast x group interaction, P < 0.05). There were no other effects of breakfast on test scores. The findings extend those of a previous Jamaican study conducted under more controlled conditions, and support the targeting of school meals to undernourished children.
Two experiments examined the effect of breakfast (1.89 MJ) and caffeine (4 mg/kg) on cognitive performance, mood and cardiovascular functioning. In the first experiment, breakfast had no effect on performance of sustained attention tasks, but it increased pulse rate and influenced mood. The mood effects after breakfast differed between a cooked breakfast and a cereal/toast breakfast. In contrast to the effects of breakfast, this relatively high dose of caffeine improved performance of the sustained attention tasks, increased blood pressure and increased mental alertness. In the second experiment, effects of a breakfast and caffeine on mood and cardiovascular functions confirmed the results of the first study. The breakfast improved performance on free recall and recognition memory tasks, had no effect on a semantic memory task and impaired the accuracy of performing a logical reasoning task. In contrast to this, caffeine improved performance on the semantic memory, logical reasoning, free recall and recognition memory tasks. Overall, these results show that breakfast can improve performance in some but not all cognitive tasks and that these changes are very different from those observed after lunch, and those produced by caffeine.
This study examined the effects of breakfast cereal and caffeinated coffee on working memory, attention, mood, and cardiovascular function. One hundred and forty-four volunteers (72 male, 72 female, mean age 21 years) were assigned to one of the groups formed by combining breakfast (cereal versus no breakfast) and caffeine (caffeinated versus decaffeinated coffee) conditions. The volunteers completed a baseline session between 0800 and 0845 h. The breakfast/caffeine administration took place between 0845 and 0915 h. They then completed another test session (starting at 0945) and had a coffee break at 1045, followed by a final session starting at 1145. The results showed that those who consumed breakfast cereal had a more positive mood at the start of the test sessions, performed better on a spatial memory task, and felt calmer at the end of the test session than those in the no breakfast condition. Ingestion of caffeine had no effect on initial mood or working memory, but it did improve encoding of new information and counteracted the fatigue that developed over the test session. Caffeine increased blood pressure and pulse rate, whereas breakfast cereal consumption only had an effect on pulse. Overall, these results confirm previous findings on the effects of breakfast and caffeine, and demonstrate distinct profiles for two common examples of early-morning food and drink, breakfast cereal and caffeinated coffee.
It is easier to demonstrate the consistent effects of foods on satiety than on cognitive performance. This is understandable since the satiety system incorporates physiological signalling systems that mediate the effects of foods on function. Specific manipulations of proteins, carbohydrates and fats have the potential to act as functional foods for appetite control. Because of the importance of the optimal functioning of cognitions for survival, these functions are quite strongly protected against short-term dietary and physiological perturbances. Therefore, food manipulations may be better detected through the degree of effort exerted to maintain performance rather than via changes in the actual performance itself. This procedure has not been widely used hitherto. The concept of biomarkers may have to be interpreted differently from research on physiological systems or clinical endpoints. For satiety, adjustments in the profile of hunger could serve as a biomarker or surrogate endpoint. For cognitions, correlated physiological variables may be more difficult to measure than the functional endpoint itself. Changes related to unitary functions (such as tracking) could serve as biomarkers for more complex, integrated skills (such as car driving). Since food manipulations may affect multiple functions, the challenge is to design foods with good satiety control that do not impair mental performance; or alternatively to engineer foods that optimise cognitive performance without compromising satiety. This rapidly developing field has great potential for close collaboration between academia and industry in the production of commercially successful products that show clear improvements in human functioning with the capacity to protect against disease or impairment.
Breakfast has been labeled the most important meal of the day, but are there data to support this claim? We summarized the results of 47 studies examining the association of breakfast consumption with nutritional adequacy (nine studies), body weight (16 studies), and academic performance (22 studies) in children and adolescents. Breakfast skipping is highly prevalent in the United States and Europe (10% to 30%), depending on age group, population, and definition. Although the quality of breakfast was variable within and between studies, children who reported eating breakfast on a consistent basis tended to have superior nutritional profiles than their breakfast-skipping peers. Breakfast eaters generally consumed more daily calories yet were less likely to be overweight, although not all studies associated breakfast skipping with overweight. Evidence suggests that breakfast consumption may improve cognitive function related to memory, test grades, and school attendance. Breakfast as part of a healthful diet and lifestyle can positively impact children's health and well-being. Parents should be encouraged to provide breakfast for their children or explore the availability of a school breakfast program. We advocate consumption of a healthful breakfast on a daily basis consisting of a variety of foods, especially high-fiber and nutrient-rich whole grains, fruits, and dairy products.
The relationship between breakfast composition and cognitive performance was examined in elementary school children. Two experiments compared the effects of two common U.S. breakfast foods and no breakfast on children's cognition. Using a within-participant design, once a week for 3 weeks, children consumed one of two breakfasts or no breakfast and then completed a battery of cognitive tests. The two breakfasts were instant oatmeal and ready-to-eat cereal, which were similar in energy, but differed in macronutrient composition, processing characteristics, effects on digestion and metabolism, and glycemic score. Results with 9 to 11 year-olds replicated previous findings showing that breakfast intake enhances cognitive performance, particularly on tasks requiring processing of a complex visual display. The results extend previous findings by showing differential effects of breakfast type. Boys and girls showed enhanced spatial memory and girls showed improved short-term memory after consuming oatmeal. Results with 6 to 8 year-olds also showed effects of breakfast type. Younger children had better spatial memory and better auditory attention and girls exhibited better short-term memory after consuming oatmeal. Due to compositional differences in protein and fiber content, glycemic scores, and rate of digestion, oatmeal may provide a slower and more sustained energy source and consequently result in cognitive enhancement compared to low-fiber high glycemic ready-to-eat cereal. These results have important practical implications, suggesting the importance of what children consume for breakfast before school.
We examined the effects of omitting breakfast on the cognitive functions of three groups of children: stunted, nonstunted controls, and previously severely malnourished. They were admitted to a metabolic ward twice. After an overnight fast half the children received breakfast on their first visit and a cup of tea the second time. The treatment order was reversed for the other half. When breakfast was omitted, both the stunted and previously malnourished groups responded similarly. The malnourished groups had lower scores in fluency and coding whereas the control group had higher scores in arithmetic. The children were divided into wasted and nonwasted groups. Wasted children were adversely affected in the digit span backwards tests, and wasted members of the malnourished groups were adversely affected in efficiency of problem solving and those in the control group in digit span forwards. These results indicate that cognitive functions are more vulnerable to missing breakfast in poorly nourished children.
Objective:
To study the effect of breakfast timing on selected cognitive functions of elementary school students.Design:
A 2-week randomized control intervention trial.Setting:
Five elementary schools.Subjects:
The subjects comprised 569 children, 51% of them boys, aged 11 to 13 years; the children were in grades 5 through 6 (17 classes). The subjects lived in different areas and had different socioeconomic backgrounds.Intervention:
Each subject was tested twice, by 2 versions of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test, 2 alternative forms of the logical memory subtest of the revised Wechsler Memory Scale, and 2 versions of the Benton Visual Retention Test. On the first test, before any nutritional intervention, the subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire about their food intake on the day of testing. Two thirds of the subjects received 200 mL of 3%-fat milk and 30 g of sugared cornflakes for the next 14 days, and all the subjects were reexamined on the 15th day.Main Outcome Measure:
Scoring on the different tests was compared with baseline scores.Results:
After 15 days, children who ate breakfast at school scored notably higher on most of the test modules than did children who ate breakfast at home and children who did not eat breakfast.Conclusions:
Our results indicate that routinely eating breakfast 2 hours prior to being tested does not improve cognitive functions in 11- to 13-year-old elementary school students, but food supplementation 30 minutes prior to taking a test notably improves scoring. We suggest further studies on the relationship between meal content, feeding time, and scholastic performance.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150:1089-1092.
This study examined the effects of breakfast cereal and caffeinated coffee on working memory, attention, mood, and cardiovascular function. One hundred and forty-four volunteers (72 male, 72 female, mean age 21 years) were assigned to one of the groups formed by combining breakfast (cereal versus no breakfast) and caffeine (caffeinated versus decaffeinated coffee) conditions. The volunteers completed a baseline session between 0800 and 0845 h. The breakfast/caffeine administration took place between 0845 and 0915 h. They then completed another test session (starting at 0945) and had a coffee break at 1045, followed by a final session starting at 1145. The results showed that those who consumed breakfast cereal had a more positive mood at the start of the test sessions, performed better on a spatial memory task, and felt calmer at the end of the test session than those in the no breakfast condition. Ingestion of caffeine had no effect on initial mood or working memory, but it did improve encoding of new information and counteracted the fatigue that developed over the test session. Caffeine increased blood pressure and pulse rate, whereas breakfast cereal consumption only had an effect on pulse. Overall, these results confirm previous findings on the effects of breakfast and caffeine, and demonstrate distinct profiles for two common examples of early-morning food and drink, breakfast cereal and caffeinated coffee.
Eighteen subjects consumed low-fat/high-carbohydrate (LFHC) (29% fat, 54% carbohydrate, 15% protein), medium-fat/medium-carbohydrate (MFMC) (45% fat, 42% carbohydrate, 12% protein), and high-fat/low-carbohydrate (HFLC) (62% fat, 24% carbohydrate, 13% protein) isocaloric lunches in random order on 3 separate days. The MFMC lunch was similar in energy and macronutrient composition to the habitual lunchtime intake of the subjects. A battery of cognitive performance tasks together with mood and appetite ratings were carried out before and during the 3 h after lunch. Results showed longer reaction times following the LFHC and HFLC lunches compared to the MFMC lunch, which produced an improvement in performance on this task. In addition, subjects rated themselves as more drowsy, uncertain and muddled, and less cheerful after the LFHC and HFLC lunches compared to the MFMC lunch, and as less tense after the LFHC meal. These findings indicate that the macronutrient content of lunch can have significant acute effects on subsequent mood and performance. In particular, higher than usual proportions of fat or carbohydrate produced a relative impairment of cognitive efficiency.
The present study outlines a theory of how people compare sentences against pictures. This theory was tested in four experiments in which Ss were timed as they judged whether a sentence (e.g., Star isn't above plus) was true or false of a picture (e.g., +∗). The latencies in these tasks were consistent with the thesis that: (1) sentences are represented in terms of elementary propositions; (2) pictures are encoded in the same interpretive format; (3) these two codes are compared in an algorithmic series of mental operations, each of which contributes additively to the response latency; and (4) sentence encoding, picture encoding, comparing, and responding are four serially ordered stages, and their component latencies are additive. From these results, it was also possible to rule out certain explanations based on visual imagery, conversion (e.g., converting isn't above into is below), reading time, normative word frequencies, and other factors. Finally, it was shown that this theory is consistent with previous studies on sentence comprehension, sentence verification, concept verification, and other related phenomena.
In this supplement, the papers presented at the International Symposium on Breakfast and Performance in Napa, CA in 1995 are summarized and integrated with data published since that time. In particular, the focus is on issues of research design, measurements, mechanisms, potential effect modifiers (eg, age), and relevance for public policy. No definitive conclusions can be drawn from the existing data on either the long- and short-term benefits of breakfast on cognition and school learning or the mechanisms that mediate this relation. The pooled data suggest that omitting breakfast interferes with cognition and learning, an effect that is more pronounced in nutritionally at-risk children than in well-nourished children. At the very least, breakfast consumption improves school attendance and enhances the quality of the students' diets.
In der aktuellen Forschung gibt es nach wie vor keinen Konsens darüber, mit wie vielen Dimensionen das emotionale Erleben angemessen erfasst werden kann. Sehr populär ist der Ansatz von Watson und Tellegen (1985) mit den Dimensionen positive affect und negative affect. Auch das System von Osgood (1966) mit den Dimensionen pleasantness, control und activation findet noch Verwendung. Am Anfang der wissenschaftlichen Entwicklung stand gleichfalls ein dreidimensionales Konzept, das Wundt 1896 präsentiert hatte. Auch Schlosberg (1954) präsentierte bereits vor einem halben Jahrhundert ein dreidimensionales System. Beide postulieren neben einer Lust-Unlust-Dimension und einer Erregungsdimension auch eine Aufmerksamkeitsdimension von Emotionen. In einer faktorenanalytischen Untersuchung der Angaben von 203 Probanden zu 50 Items konnte ein fünfdimensionales System entwickelt werden, welches sowohl die Auffassungen Wundts und Schlosbergs als auch die Annahmen Watsons und Tellegens sowie zusätzlich die Dimension Wachheit-Schläfrigkeit von Steyer, Schwenkmezger, Notz und Eid (1994) berücksichtigt. There is still no consensus in current research about in how many dimensions emotional experience can be registered. Very popularly is the approach of Watson and Tellegen (1985) with the dimensions positive affect and negative affect. Also the system of Osgood (1966) with the dimensions pleasantness, control and activation is still used. However, right at the beginning of scientific development stood the also three-dimensional approach presented by Wundt in 1896. Half a century ago Schlosberg (1954) presented a three-dimensional system too. Both postulate a pleasantness-unpleasantness-dimension and a dimension of excitement as well as an attention dimension. In a factor-analytic examination of the response of 203 subjects to 50 items a 5-dimensional system was developed which includes the approaches of Wundt and Schlosberg as well as the ideas of Watson and Tellegen - and in addition the dimension wakefulness-sleepiness by Steyer, Schwenkmezger, Notz and Eid (1994).
We studied cognitive function and metabolic status in a group of healthy adolescents fed the government supplied breakfast (n = 18) versus a control group (n = 16) fed a very low calorie meal. Serum glucose and beta-hydroxybutyrate levels were repeatedly measured at predetermined intervals throughout the testing period. Acute cognitive and mood effect were evaluated in all subjects on a pre-post basis. No significant group differences emerged on a battery of psychological measures that assessed short-term auditory memory, vigilance, impulsivity, and mood. Neither serum glucose or beta-hydroxybutyrate levels correlated significantly with any behavioral measure. Results are discussed in the context of previous studies of nutrition and cognition.
Studies of nutritional effects on behavior of children present many of the same methodological problems as studies of drugs on behavior of children. Dependent measures must be made across several classes of response at different time scales and levels of precision. A schema is presented for an integrated series of nutritional studies. The effects of missing breakfast and of simple sugars are used to illustrate several applications from this schema, including autonomic (evoked cardiac response), central (event-related potentials), and behavioral measures. Each class of measures is found to be sensitive to these nutritional manipulations. Attention and motor behavior appear to be quite sensitive to subtle nutritional effects.
The effects of short-term fasting (skipping breakfast) on the problem-solving performance of 9 to 11 yr old children were studied under the controlled conditions of a metabolic ward. The behavioral test battery included an assessment of IQ, the Matching Familiar Figure Test and Hagen Central Incidental Test. Glucose and insulin levels were measured in blood. All assessments were made under fasting and non-fasting conditions. Skipping breakfast was found to have adverse effects on the children's late morning problem-solving performance. These findings support observations that the timing and nutrient composition of meals have acute and demonstrable effects on behavior.
1. The results from two studies are reported of the effects on mental performance of omitting breakfast. The objective of the first study was to compare the performances of schoolchildren who habitually ate or did not eat breakfast. In the second study the effectsof omitting breakfast by those accustomed to eating the morning meal were investigated.
2. Mental performance was assessed by two short-term memory tests (a simple cancellation test in which paired letters were marked on a page of random letters) and a memory-search test in which tines containing a group of specified fetters were marked, a series of numerical additions, and an attention-demanding test (in which specified statements had to be verified).
3. Neither study revealed differences attributable to the omission or consumption of breakfast.
Effects of skipping breakfast on speed and accuracy of response in a number of problem solving tasks were assessed in 9- to 11-yr-old, well-nourished children. The conceptual framework for this study was derived from an experimental model of the effects of mild environmental stress, e.g., noise, on human performance. Plasma glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate, lactate, and free fatty acids were used as indicators of the induced metabolic stress, and the extent of their association with the behavioral measures was determined. Fasting had an adverse effect on the accuracy of responses in problem solving, but it had a beneficial effect on immediate recall in short-term memory. Both effects are explained by a heightened arousal level associated with the brief experimental fast.
This study focuses on the effects of breakfast omission on cognitive performance. We studied 279 children from low socioeconomic level background ranging in age from 8 years 7 months to 10 years 11 months, categorized nutritionally as: normal, wasted or stunted. Evaluation comprised three cognitive tasks designed to be applied with a microcomputer. Assessment took place in their natural setting, after a mean of 14 h of overnight fasting, some having received a standard breakfast at random while the remaining children continued a fasting situation. We found no consistent association between study condition and performance in short-term visual memory, problem solving and attention tasks in any of the three nutritional groups. Stunted children showed significantly lower scores in the attention test irrespective of having received breakfast or not. These results suggest that given a motivating short-term task and maintaining routine conditions, missing breakfast does not affect the accuracy of the cognitive performance of children. Nutritionally affected children did not show a particular vulnerability to the fasting condition, but did show a specific cognitive deficit.
To study the effect of breakfast timing on selected cognitive functions of elementary school students.
A 2-week randomized control intervention trial.
Five elementary schools.
The subjects comprised 569 children, 51% of them boys, aged 11 to 13 years; the children were in grades 5 through 6 (17 classes). The subjects lived in different areas and had different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Each subject was tested twice, by 2 versions of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test, 2 alternative forms of the logical memory subtest of the revised Wechsler Memory Scale, and 2 versions of the Benton Visual Retention Test. On the first test, before any nutritional intervention, the subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire about their food intake on the day of testing. Two thirds of the subjects received 200 ml of 3%-fat milk and 30 g of sugared cornflakes for the next 14 days, and all the subjects were reexamined on the 15th day.
Scoring on the different tests was compared with baseline scores.
After 15 days, children who ate breakfast at school scored notably higher on most of the test modules than did children who ate breakfast at home and children who did not at breakfast.
Our results indicate that routinely eating breakfast 2 hours prior to being tested does not improve cognitive functions in 11- to 13-year-old elementary school students, but food supplementation 30 minutes prior to taking a test notably improves scoring. We suggest further studies on the relationship between meal content, feeding time, and scholastic performance.
Sixteen subjects consumed low-fat/high-carbohydrate (LFHC), medium-fat/ medium-carbohydrate (MFMC), high-fat/low-carbohydrate (HFLC) iso-energetic breakfasts and no breakfast in a counterbalanced order on four separate days. The LFHC breakfast was similar in macronutrient composition, though not in meal size (more kcal) and types of foods offered, to the habitual breakfast of the subjects. A battery of cognitive performance tasks together with mood and appetite ratings were completed before and during the 3 h following breakfast. Results showed no clear differences in performance between the four dietary conditions, but significant effects on mood were observed. Mood improved (a decline in fatigue/dysphoria) following the LFHC breakfast compared to the other meals. The findings show that the macronutrient content of breakfast, independent of energy value and oro-sensory qualities, can exert small but reliable effects on subsequent mood, and suggest that deviation from habitual meal composition can produce a relative decline in mood state. These conclusions are supported by results from a previous study of the effects of lunch which found very similar relationships between meal composition, habitual choices and postprandial mood changes.
Studies with positron emission tomography indicate that the human brain undergoes a period of postnatal maturation that is much more protracted than previously suspected. In the newborn, the highest degree of glucose metabolism (representative of functional activity) is in primary sensory and motor cortex, cingulate cortex, thalamus, brain stem, cerebellar vermis, and hippocampal region. At 2 to 3 months of age, glucose utilization increases in the parietal, temporal, and primary visual cortex; basal ganglia; and cerebellar hemispheres. Between 6 and 12 months, glucose utilization increases in frontal cortex. These metabolic changes correspond to the emergence of various behaviors during the first year of life. The measurement of absolute rates of glucose utilization during development indicates that the cerebral cortex undergoes a dynamic course of metabolic maturation that persists until ages 16-18 years. Initially, there is a rise in the rates of glucose utilization from birth until about age 4 years, at which time the child's cerebral cortex uses over twice as much glucose as that of adults. From age 4 to 10 years, these very high rates of glucose consumption are maintained, and only after then is there a gradual decline of glucose metabolic rates to reach adult values by age 16-18 years. Correlations between glucose utilization rates and synaptogenesis are discussed, and the argument is made that these findings have important implications with respect to human brain plasticity following injury as well as to "critical periods" of maximal learning capacity.
Although there are reports that breakfast influences both mood and memory, there has been no attempt to consider whether a subsequent snack is beneficial. One hundred and fifty young female adults either fasted or consumed breakfasts of either 10 or 50 g of carbohydrate (corn flakes). Half received a further 25 g of carbohydrate in the form of corn flakes after 1 1/2 h (snack). Predictably, those who ate breakfast, and/or a snack, reported feeling less hungry. The larger the caloric intake, the less subjects reported hunger. Those who consumed a snack reported a better mood. Eating a larger breakfast was associated with poorer mood later in the morning, an effect reversed by eating a snack. Memory for the word lists was not influenced by eating breakfast, however, 20 but not 60 min after a midmorning snack, more words were recalled. Those who had eaten breakfast, as opposed to fasting, did, however, spend longer trying to recall the words. This finding was interpreted as evidence that eating breakfast was associated with better motivation. On a number of occasions, better memory was associated with lower blood glucose levels. These findings support previous observations that better glucose tolerance was associated with better memory.
From a physiologic perspective, the role of glucose in brain functioning is reviewed and the effect of diet-induced changes in blood glucose on mood and cognition are outlined. Many studies have used a glucose drink or a meal composed almost entirely of carbohydrate as an experimental tool. Because pure sources of carbohydrate will be rarely consumed, the possibility that foods of different glycemic indices will modify mood and memory is briefly considered. (C) 2003 International Life Sciences Institute.
Twenty-nine schoolchildren were tested throughout the morning on 4 successive days, having a different breakfast each day (either of the cereals Cheerios or Shreddies, glucose drink or No breakfast). A series of computerised tests of attention, working memory and episodic secondary memory was conducted prior to breakfast and again 30, 90, 150 and 210 min later. The glucose drink and No breakfast conditions were followed by declines in attention and memory, but the declines were significantly reduced in the two cereal conditions. This study provides objective evidence that a typical breakfast of cereal rich in complex carbohydrates can help maintain mental performance over the morning.
The effect on the ability of children to attend to their school work, of the size of breakfast and whether a mid-morning snack had been consumed, was considered. Nine year old children were studied for four days. They reported what they had eaten for breakfast and days when they either had or had not eaten a mid-morning snack were contrasted. For an hour in the late morning, while performing individual work, activity sampling was used to establish the time spent on task. Those who had eaten a small breakfast, on average 61 kcal, spent significantly less time attending to their work than those who had eaten larger meals. The adverse effect of a small breakfast was reversed by the consumption of a mid-morning snack.
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Jochen Klenk and Ulrike Weiland 20-Year-Old High School Students: Results of a Crossover Trial Influence of Having Breakfast on Cognitive Performance and Mood in 13-to & Services Updated Information
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Pediatrics
Katharina Widenhorn-Müller, Katrin Hille, Jochen Klenk and Ulrike Weiland
20-Year-Old High School Students: Results of a Crossover Trial
Influence of Having Breakfast on Cognitive Performance and Mood in 13-to
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