Why is breakfast so important for school...

Why is breakfast so important for school children?

People (and mums in particular) often say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it’s true!Eating a nutritious breakfast really does make a difference to school and work related performance.

Children’s growing bodies and developing brains rely heavily on the regular intake of food. When kids skip breakfast, they can end up going without breakfast for long periods of time which can cause physical, intellectual and behavioural problems. Children find it hard to concentrate in class without proper nourishment and with the distraction of hunger. Children who regularly miss breakfast are also more likely to be overweight.

Eating breakfast can:

Improve speed in short-term memory tests
Help with problem solving
Help children perform better in creativity tests
Improve alertness, which may help with memory and learning

(Chao & Vanderkooy (1989). An overview of breakfast nutrition. Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association, Vol. 50, No. 4, 225-228.Wyon et al (1997). An experimental study of the effects of energy intake at breakfast on the test performance of 10-year-old children in school. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition; 48: 5-12. Pollitt et al (1981). Brief fasting, stress and cognition in children. Am. J. of Clin. Nutr. 34: 1526-1533; Pollitt et al (1982). Fasting and cognitive performance. J Psych Res 17:169-174)

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Weight problems can be difficult to resolve. It’s important to prevent the problem from happening in the first place.

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