Educators, nutritionists and public health departments have all concluded that students' entire school experience, from attendance to test scores, improves when they eat breakfast. Eating a good healthy breakfast rather than a sugary doughnut, and sitting down to eat with family or peers at school helps students in school even more.
Benefits of Breakfast
Taking in calories after a night of fasting gives the brain a quick boost of memory power, the Franklin Institute reports. Carbohydrates that feed the brain its necessary fuel of glucose are particularly helpful in bolstering memory capacity. Skipping breakfast can lead to poor classroom behavior, and breakfast skippers may not catch up on all their nutritional needs through the day, Dr. Ronald Kleinman, chief of pediatric nutrition at Boston General Hospital told the National Dairy Council's Nutrition Explorations website. Eating breakfast can help improve grades as well as reduce student fidgeting, depression, anxiety and irritability, reports the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine.
Breakfast Nutrition
While any breakfast is better than no breakfast, a nutritious breakfast is better than a sugary doughnut or toaster pastry, according to the Franklin Institute. Ideally, a total breakfast should include carbohydrates for brain power as well as protein to help children feel full through the day. Grains, fruit and a dairy product provide a good framework for building breakfast, Kleinman advises, but breakfast should fit in with the family's cultural practices. A slice of cold pizza and a glass of juice works, according to the Baylor College of Medicine. Yoghurt and an apple, leftover beans and rice wrapped in a tortilla with a glass of fruit juice, or toast with peanut butter and banana are all quick to eat on the run and provide a nutritional breakfast.
Breakfast in the Classroom
School breakfast programs yield significant positive results, including healthier kids, fewer nurse visits, higher test scores, better attendance and fewer disciplinary problems in the classroom, reports the University of Wisconsin. Many schools across the country are now expanding their school breakfast programs to include foods easily eaten in the classroom. Breakfast in the classroom allows all students to eat together while transitioning into the day, and avoids the potential stigma and scheduling logistics involved when some students -- presumed by other students to be low-income -- attend a cafeteria-based breakfast program. While many family's schedules today do not allow the whole family to sit down to breakfast together, eating with other kids in the classroom reinforces the positive and communal aspects of healthy eating.
Need for More Study
A review of literature by the Center for International Child Health in London, published in the June 2005 "Food Nutrition Bulletin," noted that while nearly every study on the subject found resulting benefits when young students were given breakfast, most of these studies were seriously flawed in their structure. The report did not question the value of breakfast, but noted instead that longer-term studies that include the poorest countries as well as details like the timing and environment in which breakfast is served, and whether classroom conditions other than food impact children's behavior, are necessary to provide more thorough and accurate information. Socioeconomic factors other than food may play a part in the current literature regarding student breakfast, and more scientifically rigorous study would better guide educators and parents in making breakfast choices for children.
References
- The Franklin Institute Resources for Science Learning; The Human Brain, Nourish--Carbohydrates Feed Your Brain; 2004
- NutritionExplorations.org; Breakfast at School: Fast and Healthy Food for Thought; 2011
- PubMed.gov; Can the provision of breakfast benefit school performance?; S. Grantham-McGregor; Food Nutrition Bulletin June 2005
- Baylor College of Medicine Children's Nutrition Research Center; Hunger Hinders School Performance; 2004
- University of Wisconsin Extension; School Breakfast Program Cost Benefit Analysis; 2007
- Washington State Board of Health; Action for Healthy Kids Fact Sheet: Nutrition, Physical Activity and Achievement
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