Can eating breakfast help kids at school?

As well as giving you energy to start the day, breakfast plays a crucial role in powering your brain. So, it adds up that a healthy breakfast habit can help children and teens do better at school. 

There is a wealth of scientific research linking breakfast with improved brain function and academic performance, including a review of 41 studies that showed eating breakfast was the number one dietary factor linked to better marks.

So, can you eat your way to better grades?

 
An Australian study of 824 children in grades three to seven found breakfast was critical for school performance in children. Specifically, it showed the combination of regularly eating breakfast, especially a good quality breakfast, and being active boosted both literacy and numeracy skills. It also helps kids to beat the ‘fuzzies’, or poor concentration, that can set in with the mid-morning hunger pangs.

A recent study in 648 Australian high-school students found that eating a regular high-quality breakfast was linked to academic achievement which was facilitated by adaptive motivation (e.g., mastering skills, self-efficacy and seeing learning as valuable). 

So what’s a ‘good quality’ breakfast? Well, it should be well-balanced, nourishing and delicious. So wholegrain cereal with dairy or soy milk topped with fruit or blended together as a smoothie; wholegrain toast with peanut butter; baked beans and avocado on toast with a grilled tomato; or a berry breakfast trifle are all great options.

What to eat before exams?

 
If you have teens that are heading into exam time, be sure to keep up good breakfast habits. Feeding the brain is essential for good cognitive function and has been shown to help with attention, memory and recall, as well as academic performance.

The trouble is that as kids get older, they are more likely to skip breakfast missing essential nutrients, which become even more important during puberty when rapid growth spurts kick-in.

A recent UK study of teens looked at their breakfast habits and their exam results. It found students who rarely ate breakfast achieved nearly two grades lower than those who rarely missed brekkie.

Another study in over 1000 Chilean teens showed that those who have breakfast, and particularly a high-quality breakfast just before a cognitive task, have better cognitive performance than those who don’t.

Similarly, another study in over 3000 upper primary school-aged children in Wales found that breakfast consumption was strongly linked to educational performance, indicated by higher exam scores.

So, what’s the best breakfast before an exam? Evidence has shown that a low GI breakfast helps provide a slow release of energy and steady blood sugar levels for optimal cognitive function and can lead to better attention and memory over the morning*. A US study in 698 primary school-aged children showed that among breakfast consumers, greater servings of wholegrains were linked with higher academic scores in reading comprehension and fluency and maths.

Our best brekkie suggestions include:

• Your favourite wholegrain breakfast cereal topped with soy milk, unsweetened yoghurt and berries 
• Bircher muesli topped with canned fruit and nuts
• Avocado and eggs on sourdough toast 
• Chia pudding made on soy milk topped with sliced banana and cinnamon. 
• Wholemeal toast with nut butter and a handful of berries.

Simple breakfast gets the tick

A bowl of cereal before your child rushes off to school is a great start - well done! A study of Australian data showed children that started their day with breakfast cereal had the highest intakes of dietary fibre and nutrients including calcium and iron - key nutrients Australian and New Zealand children fall short on.

In fact, compared to children that ate other foods for breakfast, cereal eaters had 32% more iron, 30% more riboflavin, 23% more calcium, 9% less salt in their daily diets and were more likely to meet daily recommended serves of grain foods (including wholegrains), fruit, dairy and vegetables. It also found the nutritional benefits were consistent, regardless of the total sugar content of the breakfast cereal eaten.

Why breakfast programs are so important

 
Studies show school breakfast programs play a vital role in improving memory, grades, and standardised test scores which could be attributed to children eating breakfast (rather than skipping) and more regular school attendance.

It’s for these reasons that Sanitarium supports school breakfast programs. Since 2001, we’ve worked closely with Foodbank Australia and Kickstart for Kids in South Australia, now reaching over 3,300 breakfast clubs in schools across the country.

• Cooper, S. B., Bandelow, S., Nute, M. L., Morris, J. G., & Nevill, M. E. (2012). Breakfast glycaemic index and cognitive function in adolescent school children. British Journal of Nutrition, 107(12), 1823-1832. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114511005022
• Edefonti, V., Rosato, V., Parpinel, M., Nebbia, G., Fiorica, L., Fossali, E., Ferraroni, M., Decarli, A., & Agostoni, C. (2014). The effect of breakfast composition and energy contribution on cognitive and academic performance: a systematic review123. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 100(2), 626-656. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.083683
• Ingwersen, J., Defeyter, M. A., Kennedy, D. O., Wesnes, K. A., & Scholey, A. B. (2007). A low glycaemic index breakfast cereal preferentially prevents children's cognitive performance from declining throughout the morning. Appetite, 49(1), 240-244. i.org/10.1016/j.appet.2006.06.009"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2006.06.009