A study by the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania (USA) reveals that children who do not eat breakfast regularly obtain lower scores on tests that measure the intelligence quotient (IQ) than those who always start the day with a balanced breakfast. Specifically, in six-year-old children, skipping the first meal of the day reduces verbal ability by 5.58 points, performance by 2.50 points and total score by 4.6 points. According to Jianghong-Liu, a co-author of the work, the worrying thing is that cognitive skills at that age develop rapidly. And everything points to the fact that, after a whole night without eating a bite, breakfast is essential as "fuel" for the normal functioning and development of the brain .
Researchers say that adequate nutrition in childhood is not only related to better scores on intelligence tests at school age, but is also associated with a more satisfactory professional career and greater economic success as they reach adulthood . "In the long term, making sure to eat breakfast could provide benefits for physical and mental health, as well as an adequate quality of life," concludes Jianghong-Liu, who assures that the habit of daily breakfast also reduces behavioral disorders .
