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Breakfast and performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2001

Santiago Cueto
Santiago Cueto*
Affiliation:
Group of Analysis for Development (GRADE), Av. Del Ejército 1870, San Isidro, Lima, Peru
*
*Corresponding author:Email scueto@grade.org.pe
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Abstract

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Evidence suggests that the effect of fasting on performance is notuniform, but it is dependent on the basal nutritional status of thesubject. Breakfast consumption has a short-term effect in improvingselected learning skills, especially work memory. School breakfastprogrammes have a positive effect on the nutritional status ofchildren, on school attendance and probably on dropout rates. Theeffect of breakfast consumption on school performance depends on theinteraction between the programme, student characteristics(malnutrition) and school organisation. Unless the school settingguarantees a minimum quality standard, the benefits of breakfastconsumption will not be evident in performance in complex areas likelanguage or maths.

Keywords

BreakfastChildrenSchool performanceLearning skillsMalnutritionGrowth

Information

Type
Breakfast and dietary balance: the enKid Study
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 4 , Issue 6a , December 2001, pp. 1429 - 1431
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2001

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