Breakfast Variety Aids Kids' Minds

Adding a banana or other fruit to a bowl of cereal and milk could be the key to better mental health in teenagers, according to Australian researchers who have found that a variety of foods at breakfast is linked to better mental functioning.

Therese O’Sullivan from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research said a high quality breakfast, with foods from at least three different healthy food groups, was linked with better mental health in 14-year-old boys and girls.

And for every extra food group eaten at breakfast, the associated mental health score improved.

“Eating a breakfast of toast with a glass of milk and some fruit seems to be better than just a large serve of toast alone,” said Ms O’Sullivan, an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

“This may be because mental functioning is affected by the absorption of a variety of nutrients, including calcium, iron and B group vitamins."

Ms O’Sullivan was presenting her research at the Dietitians Association of Australia national conference on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Link between Dietary Quality and Mental Health

Early findings on the relationship between dietary quality and mental health in the long term Raine Study by the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research showed that children with identifiable behavioural or emotional difficulties were more likely to have a lower diet quality as measured by the diet quality index.

“As their mean diet quality score increased, all areas of mental health improved, suggesting that healthy diets should be encouraged in adolescent children for the benefit of their mental health and wellbeing,” she said.

The Raine Study began in the late 1980s to examine how events during pregnancy and around birth influenced the subsequent health of children. It is one of the most extensive surveys of pregnancy and early childhood to be carried out anywhere in the world.

Almost 3,000 women were enrolled and their children have been followed at birth, one, two, three, five, eight, 10, 13 and now 16 years of age. Nutrition and its relationship to physical and mental development are important aspects of the study.

Cereals and Dairy Products Main Breakfast Foods

In the latest research, more than 800 teenagers were asked what they ate for breakfast, and were scored based on their intake of the core food groups. Their mental health was assessed using a child behaviour checklist.

Only one in four teens ate a high quality breakfast, and the two most common core food groups eaten at breakfast were breads/cereals and dairy products.

Disturbingly, a small proportion of teens did not eat any items from the healthy core food groups for breakfast over the three day study period.

According to Australia’s last national nutrition survey, high school-aged girls were more likely to skip breakfast than boys.

Around one in three girls aged 12-15 did not eat a regular breakfast, compared with 13 per cent of boys.

Research has already shown that students who eat breakfast pay more attention in class, retain more information and are more interested in learning, but this is the first study to show that variety at breakfast is also important. Ms O’Sullivan said.

Tips to Increase Variety at Breakfast

She suggests the following ideas to increase variety of nutrient intake at breakfast:

• Add a spoonful of sunflower seeds to your cereal

• Top your toast with a sliced banana

• Sprinkle diced dried fruit over your cereal or add some canned, frozen or fresh fruit

• For a quick breakfast on the go, prepare a whole grain sandwich with baked beans and cheese the night before and toast it in the sandwich maker the next morning.

See also: Why Breakfast is Good for You

Teens should eat a variety of foods at breakfast

Adding fruit to cereal increases the nutrients

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