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December 9, 2015 • Kids Health

Breakfast and Brain Power in Kids

oatmealIn the most powerful study of its kind to date, scientist confirmed a direct link in kids between eating breakfast and scoring higher on standardized tests. For this ground-breaking study, scientists compared the foods consumed over a period of just over 24 hours, which included two breakfast periods, in 5000 9-11 year-olds relative to their scores on a standardized test. The results were compelling. Kids who ate breakfast were up to twice as likely to score above average as kids who failed to eat breakfast. And kids who ate high quality, nutritious foods at breakfast scored higher than those consuming foods of poor nutritional value like pastries or other sweets. The researchers also noted superior tests scores in kids consuming the most fruits and veggies over the course of the day and poorer test scores in kids consuming the most sweets over the day.
These results come as no surprise to me. HANDS DOWN, there is no organ system in the body more sensitive to our food choices than our brains. Click here to see and download my top picks for “Superstar Foods for Brain Health”.
(Pediatric Exercise Science, 2015; DOI: 10.1123/pes.2015-0044)