A mid-morning snack benefits on-task behavior only for children who consumed a small breakfast, correcting the energy deficiency¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr3·q2
Currency · newest study 2013 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
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q2 i? Children who consumed a small breakfast (<150 Kcal) spent significantly more time on-task when a mid-morning snack was also eaten; this was not evident in children who consumed more energy at breakfast. → Adolphus 2013
Evidence¶
Adolphus 2013¶
Adolphus, K., Lawton, C. L., and Dye, L. (2013). The effects of breakfast on behavior and academic performance in children and adolescents. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00425
q2 · i? · review · r3
The review describes an acute experimental study (attributed to Benton and Jarvis, 2007) crossing breakfast size with a mid-morning snack in 20 UK primary school children. It concludes "a mid-morning snack is only beneficial for children who have skipped or eaten very little for breakfast and corrects the energy deficiency."
"This suggests a mid-morning snack is only beneficial for children who have skipped or eaten very little for breakfast and corrects the energy deficiency."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- A low glycaemic load breakfast increases time on-task in young children, but the effect is short-lived and specific to the first observation period
- Acute experimental studies show inconsistent effects of breakfast on classroom behavior, with three of seven showing an on-task advantage — related
- Breakfast consumption shows a mainly positive effect on on-task behavior in the classroom in children — a broader claim this one bears on
- Robust RCTs of school breakfast programs failed to find behavioral benefits, with low and variable attendance and a shift from at-home to at-school consumption limiting impact — related
- Quality of habitual breakfast, in terms of variety of food groups and adequate energy, is positively related to school performance — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
mid-morning-snack-small-breakfast-only |
title |
A mid-morning snack benefits on-task behavior only for children who consumed a small breakfast, correcting the energy deficiency |
description |
A mid-morning snack benefits on-task behavior only for children who consumed a small breakfast, correcting the energy deficiency |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2013 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — adolphus-2013 |
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