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The Forgotten Breakfast: Impact of Skipping Morning Meals on Concentration and Growth in School Children


Authors : Ria Sharma; Neha Barari

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 4 - April


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/4byhzks2

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/565acuav

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26apr431

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.


Abstract : Breakfast is commonly acknowledged as a crucial meal for preserving health and promoting children's general development. This study investigates important aspects of the forgotten breakfast and looks at how schoolchildren's focus and physical development are affected when they miss breakfast. Missing breakfast on a regular basis might result in low energy, poor memory, a shorter attention span, and worse academic performance. By causing weakness, delayed development, and nutritional deficits, it may also have an impact on physical growth. This abstract highlight the significance of a healthy morning meal while examining important relationships between breakfast consumption, cognitive functioning, and growth outcomes. The results demonstrate that children who consistently eat breakfast typically exhibit healthier growth trends, more classroom participation, and better attentiveness. Numerous population-based and cross-sectional studiesshow that missing the breakfast is more common in girlsthan boys also rises according to the age. The likelihood of skipping breakfast is greatly increased by socioeconomic factors, including food insecurity, single-parent households, poor family income, and low parental education. Breakfast missing was also highly correlated with lifestyle characteristics, such as excessive screen time, sleep deprivation, bad eating habits, and a lack of parental supervision. The study concluded that breakfast skipping is a critical public health problem that negatively impacts a child's cognitive function, academic success, and physical development. Targeted interventions, especially those aimed at low-SEP households and involving parental education, are urgently needed.

Keywords : Breakfast Consumption, Skipping Breakfast, School Children, Concentration, Attention Span, Academic Performance, Physical Growth, Cognitive Functioning, Nutritional Deficiencies, Child Development.

References :

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Breakfast is commonly acknowledged as a crucial meal for preserving health and promoting children's general development. This study investigates important aspects of the forgotten breakfast and looks at how schoolchildren's focus and physical development are affected when they miss breakfast. Missing breakfast on a regular basis might result in low energy, poor memory, a shorter attention span, and worse academic performance. By causing weakness, delayed development, and nutritional deficits, it may also have an impact on physical growth. This abstract highlight the significance of a healthy morning meal while examining important relationships between breakfast consumption, cognitive functioning, and growth outcomes. The results demonstrate that children who consistently eat breakfast typically exhibit healthier growth trends, more classroom participation, and better attentiveness. Numerous population-based and cross-sectional studiesshow that missing the breakfast is more common in girlsthan boys also rises according to the age. The likelihood of skipping breakfast is greatly increased by socioeconomic factors, including food insecurity, single-parent households, poor family income, and low parental education. Breakfast missing was also highly correlated with lifestyle characteristics, such as excessive screen time, sleep deprivation, bad eating habits, and a lack of parental supervision. The study concluded that breakfast skipping is a critical public health problem that negatively impacts a child's cognitive function, academic success, and physical development. Targeted interventions, especially those aimed at low-SEP households and involving parental education, are urgently needed.

Keywords : Breakfast Consumption, Skipping Breakfast, School Children, Concentration, Attention Span, Academic Performance, Physical Growth, Cognitive Functioning, Nutritional Deficiencies, Child Development.

Paper Submission Last Date
30 - April - 2026

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