Breakfast consumption and cognitive function in 3 adolescent schoolchildren

23 24 25 26 2 Abstract 1 COOPER, S. B., S. BANDELOW AND M. E. NEVILL. Breakfast consumption and cognitive 2 function in adolescent schoolchildren. PHYSIOL BEHAV xx (x), xxx-xxx, 2010. 3 This study examined the effects of breakfast consumption on cognitive function, mood and blood 4 glucose concentration in adolescent schoolchildren. 5 With the institutions ethical advisory committee approval, 96 adolescents (12 to 15 years old) 6 completed two randomly assigned trials (one following breakfast consumption and one following 7 breakfast omission), scheduled 7 days apart. Cognitive function tests (visual search test, Stroop test 8 and Sternberg paradigm), a mood questionnaire and a finger prick blood sample (in a subgroup of 60 9 participants) were completed immediately following breakfast and 120 min after the baseline 10 measures. 11 Following breakfast consumption, accuracy on the more complex level of the visual search test was 12 higher than following breakfast omission (p = 0.021). Similarly, accuracy on the Stroop test was 13 better maintained across the morning following breakfast consumption when compared to breakfast 14 omission (p = 0.022). Furthermore, responses on the Sternberg paradigm were quicker later in the 15 morning following breakfast consumption, particularly on the more complex levels (p = 0.012). 16 Breakfast consumption also produced higher self-report energy and fullness, lower self-report 17 tiredness and hunger and higher blood glucose concentrations (all p < 0.0005). 18 Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that breakfast consumption enhances cognitive 19 function in an adolescent population when compared to breakfast omission.