| Three experiments examined the effects of two common breakfast foods versus no breakfast on cognition in elementary school children. The two breakfasts were similar in calories, but differed in their macronutrient composition, processing characteristics, digestion and metabolism, and glycemic score. Breakfast interventions for Experiments 1 and 2 were instant oatmeal, ready-to-eat cereal, or no breakfast. The children participated in each breakfast condition separated by a week. Sixty minutes after breakfast, children completed tests of spatial memory, verbal memory, visual perception, short-term memory, visual vigilance, and auditory vigilance.; Fifteen boys and 15 girls aged 9–11 participated in Experiment 1. Results showed that performance on a spatial memory task was enhanced after oatmeal compared to ready-to-eat cereal or no breakfast. Short term memory was influenced by breakfast intervention and sex, whereby oatmeal improved performance for girls compared to ready-to-eat cereal or no breakfast, but for boys, performance did not differ based on breakfast intervention. Also, after either breakfast, children more accurately copied a complex visual display than after no breakfast.; Fifteen boys and 15 girls, aged 6–8 participated in Experiment 2. Results show that the children performed better on a spatial memory task after oatmeal compared to no breakfast. Again, girls recalled more on a short-term memory task after oatmeal than the other two conditions. Boys did not differ on this task as a function of breakfast. For a visual perception task, boys performed worse after no breakfast than after either breakfast and girls scored best after no breakfast. For auditory attention, performance was best after oatmeal, followed by no-breakfast and ready-to-eat cereal.; Experiment 3 examined the time course of the effects of the two meals on cognition. Fifteen boys and 15 girls, age 9 to 11 participated. Breakfast consisted of oatmeal and ready-to-eat cereal and children participated in each breakfast condition separated by one week. Children completed tests of spatial memory, short-term memory, and auditory attention 30 and 150 minutes after breakfast. There were no effects of breakfast based on time of testing. However, analyses of auditory attention, collapsed across testing times, revealed that auditory vigilance was better after oatmeal. |
