Intro and Methods

Introduction

            Growing up, children are often told the saying, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. Over the years, this phrase has been largely emphasized within school systems. In recent years, breakfast programs have been incorporated more into schools nationwide so that all children have the chance to eat breakfast in the morning. This is because studies have showed that there many positives to eating a healthy breakfast. This includes reduced absenteeism, improved cognitive performance and most importantly, increased academic grades and standardized test scores (CDC 2014). Breakfast has also been proven to help with other behavioral issues. Prior research showed that children who participate in the breakfast programs at school have proved to have decreased anxiety, depression, and hyper activity (Baildon 2016). Starting this habit of eating a healthy meal before the start of the school day is crucial for children’s development later in life. Picking this habit up young is going to benefit them in their later years of school like high school and eventually college. Studies show that eating breakfast before big exams and test make a difference. During his study of the effect of breakfast on the performance of college students on biology exams, George Phillips noted that “of those that had eaten breakfast, 72.7 percent received a “C” or better on the test” (Phillips 2005). Another study reported that, “Research shows for the first time that children are twice as likely to score higher than average marks in assessments at 11 if they have started the day with a healthy breakfast” (Fleck 2015). These studies are providing evidence that there is a correlation between a healthy breakfast and better grades. While there is research specific to test scores, there hasn’t been much evidence to show if healthier breakfast correlates to a higher GPA.

Methods

Participants

The participants in this study included 31 people who were all in either high school or college. The wide age range will show the difference between the two different age groups. This is important because high school age group will show a better difference in scores as most high school students are awake for breakfast. The class schedule for college students range and many may not even be awake for that meal.

Procedures

In order to collect data, a survey was conducted. This survey consisted of five different multiple-choice questions which asked a variety of questions relating to how often they ate breakfast, if their breakfast was healthy, what their current GPA is and average test grade scores.