An Experimental Study of the Effects of Energy Intake at Breakfast on the Test Performance of 10-Year-Old Children in School

Abstract

In order to examine the effect of energy intake at breakfast on school performance the same morning, the parents of ten parallel school classes of 10-year-old school children at five different schools were persuaded to alter their child's breakfast regimen at home over a period of 4 successive days. A total of 195 families were provided with standard breakfasts with either low or high energy content. Uneaten food was returned and weighed. Individual children were randomly assigned to breakfast alternative on any given day. The teachers who carried out the performance assessments at school were blind to treatment condition. Voluntary physical endurance and the performance of a creativity test were significantly better after a breakfast from which children derived over 20% of their recommended daily energy intake than after a breakfast from which they obtained less than 10% of recommended values. The error rate in an addition task was negatively correlated and the rate of working in a number checking task was positively correlated with individual energy intake from the low-energy breakfast. Significantly fewer children reported feeling bad and self-estimates of hunger sensation were lower during the morning at school after the high energy breakfast. Estimates of energy intake at breakfast based on 24-h dietary recall interviews with the children carried out by telephone at their homes showed good correlation with estimates based on returned food (r = 0.89). Energy intake at breakfast as estimated from returned food had no significant effect on energy intake at school lunch as estimated by dietary recall.

Breakfast consumption and daily physical activity in 9–10-year-old British children

“…In before-lunch physical endurance tests among 10-year-old children, those consuming a breakfast that provided over 20 % of their estimated daily energy requirement performed significantly better than those consuming a breakfast that provided only 10 % of the requirement (18) . Furthermore, Vermorel et al illustrated that the consumption of an inadequate breakfast does not meet the energy expenditure requirements of adolescents participating in morning physical activity sessions at school (19) .…”

Development of a scale to measure 9–11-year-olds' attitudes towards breakfast

“…(Though, some studies have not found effects on specific attention, memory and mood measures, Cromer et al, 1990;Smith et al, 1994;Benton et al, 2001) These findings are borne out by experimental studies conducted in school settings, which have shown positive effects of breakfast on memory (Vaisman et al, 1996), arithmetic (Powell et al, 1998), verbal fluency (Chandler et al, 1995), physical endurance, creativity (Wyon et al, 1997) and on-task behaviour (Bro et al, 1994). In a review of this literature, Pollitt (1995) concluded that breakfast consumption consistently improves the cognitive performance of undernourished children and, in the United States and Great Britain, also has cognitive benefits for well-nourished children.…”

Relationship between habitual breakfast and intellectual performance (logical reasoning) in well-nourished schoolchildren of Madrid (Spain)

“…It would also appear that the quantity and quality of breakfast influences the performance of school-age children (Pollitt et al, 1982;Vaisman et al, 1996;Owens et al, 1997). For example, in Sweden, 10-y-olds who took more abundant breakfasts were those who performed best in morning gym classes and in verbal fluidity tests (Wyon et al, 1997). One mechanism that might explain these benefits is the increase in blood glucose after having such a meal (Benton & Sargent, 1992;Benton & Parker, 1998;Benton et al, 2001).…”