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Observational Study
. 2021 Apr 13;13(4):1278.
doi: 10.3390/nu13041278.

Breakfast and Exercise Improve Academic and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents

Masato Kawabata  1 , Kerry Lee  2 , Hui-Cheng Choo  1 , Stephen F Burns  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Breakfast and Exercise Improve Academic and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents

Masato Kawabata et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

This study examined the combined effects of breakfast and exercise on short-term academic and cognitive performance in adolescents. Eighty-two adolescents (64 female), aged 14-19 years, were randomized to four groups over a 4-hour morning: (i) a group who fasted and were sedentary (F-S); (ii) a group who ate breakfast but were sedentary (B-S); (iii) a group who fasted but completed a 30-min exercise bout (F-E); and (iv) a group who ate breakfast and completed a 30-min exercise bout (B-E). Individuals completed academic and cognitive tests over the morning. Adolescents in B-E significantly improved their mathematics score (B-E: 15.2% improvement on correct answers, vs. F-S: 6.7% improvement on correct answers; p = 0.014) and computation time for correct answers (B-E: 16.7% improvement, vs. F-S: 7.4% improvement; p = 0.004) over the morning compared with the F-S group. The B-E group had faster reaction times for congruent, incongruent and control trials of the Stroop Color-Word Task compared with F-S mid-morning (all p < 0.05). Morning breakfast and exercise combine to improve short-term mathematical task performance and speed in adolescents.

Keywords: breakfast; cognition; glycemic index; physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A schematic representation of the study protocol. Exercise involved 8 min of treadmill running at a speed equivalent to 60% of peak oxygen uptake followed by 20 min of bilateral coordinative ball exercises. Breakfast contained 382 kcal and consisted of a sandwich and a chocolate malt powder drink. Three cognitive tests (Stroop Color-Word Test, Digit-Span Test, and Go/No-Go Task) were conducted in consecutive order for each test-series. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (3rd Edition) was used for academic tests of mathematical and oral word fluency for test-series1 and test-series3.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Blood glucose concentrations at the start (Pre-test1) and end of the morning (Post-test4) in the fasted and sedentary (F-S, ♦), breakfast and sedentary (B-S, ∆), fasted and exercise (F-E, □), and breakfast and exercise (B-E, ●) groups. 1 Change in B-E > than F-S over the morning, p < 0.05. 3 Change in B-E > than F-E over the morning, p < 0.05. Error bar: SD.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Number of correct answers (mathematics score) and (b) correct answers per second (mathematics speed) in the fasted and sedentary (F-S, ♦), breakfast and sedentary (B-S, ∆), fasted and exercise (F-E, □), and breakfast and exercise (B-E, ●) groups in the 60 s arithmetic test during test-series1 and test-series3. 1 Change in B-E > than F-S over the test-series, p < 0.05. 3 Change in B-E > than F-E over the test-series, p < 0.05. 5 B-E different from F-E at test-series1, p < 0.05. Please note that there is no time lag in measurement among trials. Error bar: SD.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Percentage change in mathematics score and (b) percentage change in mathematics speed in the fasted and sedentary (F-S), breakfast and sedentary (B-S), fasted and exercise (F-E), and breakfast and exercise (B-E) groups in the 60 s arithmetic test from test-series1 to test-series3. Error bars: 95% Confidence Intervals.
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