Breakfast and performance in school children.

The results from two studies are reported of the effects on mental performance of omitting breakfast. The objective of the first study was to compare the performances of schoolchildren who habitually ate or did not eat breakfast. In the second study the effects of omitting breakfast by those accustomed to eating the morning meal were investigated. 2. Mental performance was assessed by two short-term memory tests (a simple cancellation test in which paired letters were marked on a page or random letters) and a memory-search test in which lines containing a group of specified letters were marked, a series of numerical additions, and an attention-demanding test (in which specified statements had to be verified). 3. Neither study revealed differences attributable to the omission or consumption of breakfast.