Abstract:Research into the benefits of children eating breakfast has previously focusedon educational and cognitive performance as well as behavior. Few nutritionalinvestigations have utilized brain imaging technology in order to examine howbreakfast influences brain function. This single case study used quantitativeEEG (QEEG) in order to assess how three different breakfast choices affect a12-year-old female’s brainwave activity. The three different breakfastconditions included no-breakfast, a high sugar/high carbohydrate breakfast, anda nutritionally balanced breakfast. The findings indicated that skippingbreakfast significantly increased high beta activity associated with anxietyand focus issues. Eating a high sugar/high carbohydrate breakfast was also associatedwith increased high beta activity, but less significant than the no-breakfastoption. Most importantly, eating a nutritionally balanced breakfast was foundto normalize the QEEG. The variation in high beta activity in the differentbreakfast options suggested that eating a nutritionally balanced breakfast mayreduce anxiety and increase focus compared to skipping breakfast. These resultsmay help explain why previous research has found cognitive, academic, andbehavioral improvements when children consume breakfast. Furthermore, QEEGshould be considered in future nutritional studies as a measurement of brainfunction.
