Breakfast is associated with enhanced cognitive function in schoolchildren. An internet based study

In this study, 1386 children aged between 6 and 16 years, from schools throughout the UK, logged on to a web site before lunch during Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2004. They answered a number of questions concerning their food and drink consumption that day and performed cognitive tests of attention and episodic memory. Children who had had breakfast showed superior performance on tests of attention and memory, confirming a previous laboratory based study using the same cognitive tests. This study adds weight to the growing body of literature indicating that breakfast plays a positive role in maintaining cognitive function during the morning.

► A laboratory study identified breakfast to maintain cognitive function in children.
► This study evaluated the effects of breakfast using internet based cognitive testing.
► 1386 children from schools throughout the UK participated.
► The study findings replicated those of the laboratory study.
► Breakfast can help maintain attention and memory during the morning.