Magic Breakfast

Many children and young people in the UK do not have access to a range of healthy foods which may affect their brain and overall development.

A large-scale study found that up to 30% of children and young people were skipping breakfast, starting their school day on an empty stomach.  

A typical, balanced breakfast provides one third of a school child’s recommended daily food intake. In a large-scale study that compared nutritional intake and breakfast habits:  

Breakfast eaters (of fortified cereals and other typical breakfast foods):

• had higher intakes of nutrients such as vitamins A and C, B vitamins, iron, calcium, iodine, magnesium, potassium and zinc. 
• had a higher daily intake of important macronutrients, such as carbohydrate, fibre and protein, compared with breakfast skippers.  
• were more likely to develop positive dietary habits, such as higher daily intakes of fruit and vegetables, dairy products and fortified cereals. 

Breakfast skippers:

• consumed more fat, salt and sugar (from soft drinks) overall, with more of their daily calories coming from unhealthy snack foods.
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Various studies demonstrate that eating breakfast regularly has a positive impact on learning behaviours and attainment, particularly in children and young people from low socio-economic families. 

• University of Leeds research suggests the clearest effects of introducing a free school breakfast were on mathematics and arithmetic grades in undernourished children. 
• Conversely, skipping breakfast on school days was associated with poorer GSCE mathematics attainment in adolescents from low/middle socio-economic families. 

Hydration is often overlooked, yet being hydrated is key to ensuring pupils can focus on a range of cognitive tasks (paying attention, short-term memory, reaction times, problem-solving). The availability of water (and/or milk) at schools in the morning is important for learning.

Drinking water or milk is a simple, effective way to improve cognitive performance in school.