Does Breakfast Make a Difference in School?

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Abstract

This article reviews selectively the literature on the effects of breakfast on cognition and school performance. The focus is on studies published in refereed journals after 1978 that tested those effects on well-nourished and nutritionally at-risk children. In at-risk subjects (defined by clinical history and anthropometry), a morning and overnight fast had adverse effects on cognition, particularly the speed of information retrieval in working memory. Contradictions in the data from different studies prevent definitive conclusions on whether well-nourished children experience similar functional deficits. Nonetheless, available information suggests that brain function is sensitive to short-term variations in the availability of nutrient supplies. Moreover, well-conducted evaluations suggest that the availability of feeding programs in public schools throughout the academic year increases the probability that children will eat breakfast and improve their educational status. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995; 95: 1134-1139.

Section snippets

Theoretical Reasoning

Two biological mechanisms that can operate simultaneously underlie the postulated effects of breakfast on cognitive function. One involves short-term metabolic and neurohormonal changes associated with the immediate supply of energy and nutrients to the brain. The other involves the sustained contributions of breakfast to a person's health status over time. This second mechanism is particularly relevant for children whose daily dietary intake barely meets requirements.

Programmatic And Design Issues

The following literature review does not make explicit the particular differences in the generalizability (external validity) of the findings from the studies under consideration. Differences in study design do, however, have different implications for policies and programs of food assistance in the schools. The two major designs of concern here are experimental and field evaluations. Each design has its own theory and distinct advantages and disadvantages (eg, see reference (4)).

Most of the

Literature Review

The studies in this review are classified in two major categories: experimental and Held. Experimental studies that tested the efficacy of the breakfast provided in a particular school breakfast program (SBP) arc classified separately from the remaining studies in the first category.

In populations where children are nutritionally at risk,availability of breakfast maymake it possible for a child to be well nourished over the long term and may prevent or reverse nutrient deficiencies that affect

Conclusions

Most design and method limitations observed in the studies published before 1978 have been resolved in the research conducted since that year. In particular, study design has improved with the use of experimental, crossover strategies and strict control of confounders. Well-defined hypotheses regarding the nature of the effects and the mechanisms behind them have been indicated, and cognitive and educational outcomes have been measured by means of reliable tests. Nevertheless, some limitations

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