Research has already proven that children's energy intake at breakfast affects their performance on creativity, memory and physical endurance tests prior to lunch, along with their cravings for food generally.
Aiming to build on this knowledge, researchers have now investigated whether teenagers get enough energy from their breakfast on days they have a two-hour physical education (PE) lesson in the morning and days when they don't.
Nutritional scientists monitored 60 teenagers (four groups of boys aged 14-16 and girls aged 12-16) for energy expenditure and breakfast energy supply.
They discovered that the energy supplied by breakfasts provided an average of 24.9 per cent of the teens' daily energy expenditure. Simply put, breakfast only supplied a quarter of the energy the kids burned each day.
This was enough energy to get the teens through to lunchtime if they did not have sport in the morning. If they did have a two-hour PE class, their energy supply was exhausted after between 105 and 150 minutes - usually in the middle of class.
If only a light breakfast was consumed, the teens had run out of energy supply within 90 minutes. This is a finding that is relevant not only to students' concentration levels in school but also their general nutrition. Starving teenagers may be more likely to be attracted to unhealthy, high fat, junk-foods to top up their energy supplies at lunchtime.
The researchers said their findings "stress the need for a heavy breakfast for children and adolescents on the days with (PE lessons) in the morning, and a carbohydrate rich snack at 10am to improve attention, memory and willing participation in physical activities."
Many households throw together breakfast with little thought to adequate nutrition. This study should be food for thought for every parent – and something teachers can keep an eye on if particular students seem to lose focus quicker than others.
- Tim Pegler is the editor of www.fitness2live.com.au
Reference:
Vermorel M, Bitar A, Vernet J, Verdier E, Coudert J (2003) The extent to which breakfast covers the morning energy expenditure of adolescents with varying levels of physical activity. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57: 310-315.
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