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Title: Breakfast consumption has no effect on neuropsychological functioning in children: A repeated-measures clinical trial

Author
item IOVINO, ISABELLA - TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
item STUFF, JANICE - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)
item LIU, YAN - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)
item BREWTON, CHRISTIE - UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
item DOVI, ALLISON - UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
item KLEINMAN, RONALD - MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
item NICKLAS, THERESA - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2016
Publication Date: 7/27/2016
Citation: Iovino, I., Stuff, J., Liu, Y., Brewton, C., Dovi, A., Kleinman, R., Nicklas, T. 2016. Breakfast consumption has no effect on neuropsychological functioning in children: A repeated-measures clinical trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. doi:10.3945/ajcn.116.132043.

Interpretive Summary: The longest period during a 24-h day when children go without food is typically the period from the beginning of sleep at night to the first meal of the following day. Therefore, the morning suggests an ideal time to examine the effects of fasting on basic processes that influence learning and behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term effects of breakfast consumption and fasting on the neuropsychological functioning of healthy low-and middle income school-aged children. Participants consisted of African American, Hispanic American and white male and female children aged 8-10 years from the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. This study did not confirm a benefit of breakfast consumption on acute neuropsychological functioning in healthy school-aged children from low- and middle-income families. More studies are needed regarding habitual breakfast consumption and its effect on neuropsychological functioning in healthy children and those with marginal or subnormal nutritional status.

Technical Abstract: Although many studies have investigated the relation between breakfast consumption and various domains of cognitive functioning within children, some of the reported findings are inconsistent. The goal of this study was to determine the short-term effects of a breakfast meal on the neuropsychological functioning of healthy school-aged children after an overnight fast. The study was conducted in a clinical research center with the use of a counterbalanced repeated-measures design among children who either consumed breakfast or were fasting. The administered neuropsychological tests included measures of attention, impulsivity, short-term memory, cognitive processing speed, and verbal learning. The sample consisted of children aged 8–10 y (n = 128), of whom 52% were female, 38% were African American, 31% were Hispanic, 28% were white, and 3% were of another race/ethnicity. Our findings indicated that there were no significant (P > or = 0.004) differences between breakfast meal consumption and fasting for any of the neuropsychological measures administered. Thus breakfast consumption had no short-term effect on neuropsychological functioning in healthy school-aged children.