How breakfast fuels children's brainpower

We've long been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and for good reason. This file photo was taken in 2019. (Breakfast Club of Canada)

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This story is part of a four-part series titled A Healthy Start and is sponsored by Breakfast Club of Canada, reaching 500,000 children in more than 3,000 programs in school and community settings each day.

We’ve long been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and for good reason. Our brains rely on fuel in the morning to sputter into gear, a fact that’s especially important for children whose bodies are growing.

Judith Barry, co-founder and director of government relations for Breakfast Club of Canada, often hears about the benefits that occur when children eat a nutritious breakfast at the start of their school day. “What our school stakeholders witness is incredible,” Barry said of the more than 3,300 Breakfast Club of Canada programs running across the country.

“We see kids having more concentration, the school’s principal’s office sees less intervention issues like kids coming in with headaches and stomach issues, and there are less behavioural problems to deal with. There’s a variety of great impacts, not only on the body but on the overall health of students.”

Without a healthy breakfast, children’s brains and bodies run on empty, struggling to keep up. Jane Dummer, a registered dietician and president of Jane Dummer Consulting, says a lack of nutritious food in the morning leads to negative consequences.

“The brain functions on quality carbohydrates – fresh glucose – and if there’s not enough of that fuel, children will lack concentration, they will lack the ability to feel alert, they’ll feel tired, restless and irritable,” said Dummer.

This general lethargy affects children’s performance in the classroom, at recess, and during sports and playtime.

Dummer uses the metaphor of refuelling a car to explain how a healthy breakfast powers children’s bodies, noting that it wakes up their brains and supplies new energy so they’re ready to take on the day ahead. “It kicks their bodies into gear and on throttle. Instead of trying to survive on what they ate from yesterday, they’re refuelling their bodies and kickstarting their metabolism,” she said.

According to Dummer, the best sources of quality carbohydrates in the morning are whole grains, including oatmeal, breads and cereals.

Plain Greek yogurt is also a nice option, because carbohydrates are contained in the natural sugars from the milk. Fruit also contains good carbs, although to a slightly lesser degree, with the added bonus of being chock-full of vitamins and minerals to boost the immune system.

Barry has seen an array of positive impacts on children through breakfast programs, some extending beyond the obvious physical benefits, including increased concentration, focus and energy, better behaviour, a greater sense of community, relationship-building between teachers, students and the wider school community, and the alleviation of hunger.

With school meal programs in particular, students come together to eat, often arriving at school early where they’re greeted by friends, program volunteers and teachers, fostering a sense of engagement and belonging, as well as creating life-long healthy eating habits.

According to Barry, there are socio-economic benefits as well when one considers how a child’s performance at school can alter their path to the future. A child who is better able to concentrate and learn is likely to have improved grades throughout the course of their schooling, leading to opportunities in post-secondary education, the job field and beyond, building productive citizens.

“It’s not an expense, it’s an investment. When we think about the long-term effects on a child who’s learning better and feeling better, both physically and emotionally, we can see that we can really impact their future,” explained Barry.