“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” or so went the marketing slogan thought up by James Caleb Jackson and John Harvey Kellog to sell more corn flakes. This was the same Kellog who believed that people should fill their diets with bland foods to suppress sexual arousal, and the same Kellog who, as a eugenicist, founded the Race Betterment Foundation, the name of which should make its purpose quite obvious. Despite the invalidity of many of Kellog’s beliefs, he might have had a point when it came to breakfast, at least for some.

The advertising slogan Jackson and Kellog thought up still sees use to this day. Many modern companies that produce breakfast foods continue to tell us that “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”, and that eating a good breakfast is critical to our daily performance. The slogan has seemed to work, for the most part, and the advice has become ingrained in the beliefs of many. But is it really true that we need a good breakfast? The answer? It depends.

For adults, there is sparse evidence that breakfast has any real positive impact on performance. Most studies are either inconclusive in their findings or inconsistent in their methodology. There may be a small advantage for memory and delayed recall, but for the most part, science seems to say that it is relatively inconsequential whether or not adults consume breakfast. Of course, this does not at all mean they should not have their “most important meal of the day”; just as there is no evidence that breakfast has a significantly positive impact on adults, there is likewise no evidence that it has a negative impact. But what about children? 

The benefits of breakfast for children are immense, ranging from boons to physical health, to improvements in academic performance, and there is strong evidence to back this up. Eating breakfast has a clear positive impact on cognitive performance, specifically the ability of children to remember information and to stay on task. These behaviors allow students to be more productive in class, which can result in long-term improvements in academic performance. Studies have also found improvements in scores for a variety of different subjects, including arithmetic, mathematics, science, and English. Overall scores, or composite measures of academic performance, tended to be better among students who ate breakfast. Behavioral outcomes are more difficult to measure, as they rely on inherently subjective data, but a possible decrease in classroom disruptions as a result of eating breakfast has been suggested, and this would result in a better and more productive learning environment.

Several studies have suggested that the reason behind increased academic performance in children who consume breakfast is that children have significantly higher brain glucose metabolism rates than adults. This means that during the long sleep period adolescents require (but don’t often get), glycogen stores deplete in adolescents more than they do in adults. Come morning, breakfast could be vital for adolescents to restore the glycogen levels necessary to maintain their higher metabolic rate, and hence an adequate energy level. The nutritional benefits associated with eating a breakfast containing multiple food groups also have a positive effect on both physical health and academic performance, especially on children who were initially undernourished. Breakfast foods are often fortified with vitamins and minerals, especially iron and iodine, which have been implicated with improved academic performance. In children who eat breakfast, Vitamin D and C levels have been found to be about 20-60% higher than in those who do not. 

The contents of the breakfast, that is, how nutritious it is and how much of total daily energy needs it makes up, also matter. Eating a breakfast with greater than 25% of daily energy needs and with 4 four food groups have been found to improve academic performance. Breakfast is also an opportunity to get vitamins and nutrients that are beneficial for physical health, and it has even been suggested that those who eat breakfast are less likely to become overweight or obese. 

It is well-established that eating breakfast has wide-ranging benefits for children, but 20-30% of children still skip the first meal of the day. For many, this is due to their economic circumstances; if your family cannot afford to buy breakfast, chances are, you aren’t going to have any. School breakfast programs, where schools provide a free breakfast for all students, have been successful. Beyond economic restraints, many students simply don’t have enough time to prepare and eat breakfast and forgo the meal in favor of more sleep. School breakfast programs can also help solve this question of time constraints, but they are often not available to students. Furthermore, the fastest breakfast options are not always the most nutritious; just walk down the cereal aisle at your local supermarket. Most of the boxes seem more likely to contain dessert than breakfast.

In writing this article, I hope to convince my fellow students (that’s you) to eat a nutritious breakfast. Therefore, to assist in this endeavor, I now offer the advice of a seasoned eater of breakfast (myself) to get you started. Here is the first in what will be a series of primers on different options for a quick breakfast:

Oatmeal:

Oatmeal is often a highly underrated breakfast option. Many consider it a food that is as boring as it is bland, but these people are simply poor cooks. It is in fact a template upon which you can impart whatever flavors or textures you like, with the added benefit that the high fiber content will keep you from getting hungry until lunch. Old fashioned oats, or rolled oats, are generally the best option for a weekday breakfast, as they can be cooked in the microwave in as little as two minutes. Generally, adhere to manufacturer specifications when preparing your oatmeal, and watch for spillovers, as who wants to clean their microwave when you are still half asleep. For that matter, who wants to clean their microwave, ever?

Try adding in your favorite granola, or nuts like walnuts, almonds, and pecans, to add texture, or even add peanut butter for even more flavor. Fresh fruits like blueberries (my personal favorite), strawberries, bananas, or any other fruit you have on hand, not only add immense flavor, but also provide vast amounts of antioxidants and nutrients. Dairy products like milk and yogurt add further flavor and nutrition, and a sweetener such as brown sugar or maple syrup is essential to good oatmeal. A dash of a spice like cinnamon is also a welcome edition. Lastly, whatever you do, do not forget the dash of salt that even the manufacturers thought to include in their instructions on oatmeal preparation. Another important detail; make sure to put your add-ins in your oatmeal after it is already cooked.

I certainly hope more students take up daily breakfast eating and look for more articles from me on ideas about how to have a quicker, tastier, and healthier breakfast in the coming weeks.