Research Articles | Child Nutrition Outreach Program

Below are important facts from research articles that support the Child Nutrition Outreach Program belief that eating school breakfast is beneficial to student academic improvement and overall health. Please use these to help increase support for school breakfast!

Smoking, Physical Activity and Breakfast Consumption among Secondary School Students in a Southwestern Ontario Community

Cohen, B., Evers, S., Manske, S., Bercovitz, K., & Edward, H. G. (2003). Smoking, physical activity and breakfast consumption among secondary school students in a southwestern Ontario community. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 94(1), 41-44.

Important Points

Daily breakfast consumption is important because individuals who do not eat breakfast are less likely to meet their daily nutrient requirements.
Missing breakfast was more common among girls and in higher grades rose from 44.9% in grade 9 to 65.3% in grade 12.
Students who ate breakfast daily were more likely to participate in physical activity three or more times a week compared to those who didn’t eat breakfast.
A higher proportion of girls who were concerned about gaining weight were more likely to skip breakfast.

The Relationship of School Breakfast to Psychosocial and Academic Functioning: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Observations in an Inner-City School Sample

Murphy, J. M., Pagano, M. E., Nachmani, J., Sperling, P., Kane, S., & Kleinman, R. E. (1998). The relationship of school breakfast to psychosocial and academic functioning: cross-sectional and longitudinal observations in an inner-city school sample. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 152(9), 899-907.

Important Points

Students who increased their participation in school breakfast were significantly more likely to increase their math grades.
Students who increased school breakfast participation decreased their rate of school absences and were late to school significantly fewer days.
Students who increased their school breakfast participation scored lower when tested for anxiety and depression, and significantly lower when tested for hyperactivity than students whose school breakfast participation stayed the same or decreased.

Diet, Breakfast, and Academic Performance in Children.

Kleinman RE, Hall S, Green H, Korzec-Ramirez D, Patton K, Pagano ME, Murphy JM. Diet, breakfast, and academic performance in children. Ann Nutr Metab. 2002;46 Suppl 1:24–30.

Important Points

Participation in a school breakfast program enhanced daily nutrient intake, and improvements in nutrient intake were associated with significant improvements in student academic performance and psychosocial functioning and decreases in hunger.
Children who improved their nutrient intake significantly decreased the number of days in which they were absent.
Students who increased their nutrient intake after the start of a free school breakfast program were more likely to improve their nutrient intake status and academic and psychosocial functioning.

School Breakfast Participation is Directly Correlated with Higher MCAS Scores among Elementary School Students

School Breakfast Pre-Study, Center for Social Policy, UMass Boston, Report to Project Bread, 2005.

Important Points

In all cases, a participation rate of 80-100 percent in the School Breakfast Program results in significantly higher MCAS scores than participation at lower levels.