Via the John Hopkins newsletter I discovered this new review study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience which analyzed existing research on the effects of breakfast on primary and secondary students’ academic performance and classroom behavior. The authors searched articles published between 1950 and 2013, and found 36 suitable for inclusion, still the role of SES can be an important factor blurring the results.

The newsletter summarizes the findings as follows:

The review found that the positive effects of breakfast on academic performance were clearer than on behavior. Increased frequency of habitual breakfast was consistently positively associated with academic performance. Evidence from school breakfast programs also suggested a positive effect on school performance, particularly with math grades and arithmetic scores and in undernourished children and/or children from deprived or low socioeconomic backgrounds.

The evidence also suggests beneficial effects of breakfast for on-task behavior in the classroom, mainly in younger children (under 14). This effect was apparent in children who were well-nourished, undernourished, and/or from deprived or low socioeconomic backgrounds. However, the authors warn that these results may be confounded by socioeconomic status (SES), which was not always taken into account. Children from higher SES backgrounds are more likely to regularly eat breakfast. 

Abstract of the research paper:

Breakfast consumption is associated with positive outcomes for diet quality, micronutrient intake, weight status and lifestyle factors. Breakfast has been suggested to positively affect learning in children in terms of behavior, cognitive, and school performance. However, these assertions are largely based on evidence which demonstrates acute effects of breakfast on cognitive performance. Less research which examines the effects of breakfast on the ecologically valid outcomes of academic performance or in-class behavior is available. The literature was searched for articles published between 1950–2013 indexed in Ovid MEDLINE, Pubmed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE databases, and PsychINFO. Thirty-six articles examining the effects of breakfast on in-class behavior and academic performance in children and adolescents were included. The effects of breakfast in different populations were considered, including undernourished or well-nourished children and adolescents from differing socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. The habitual and acute effects of breakfast and the effects of school breakfast programs (SBPs) were considered. The evidence indicated a mainly positive effect of breakfast on on-task behavior in the classroom. There was suggestive evidence that habitual breakfast (frequency and quality) and SBPs have a positive effect on children’s academic performance with clearest effects on mathematic and arithmetic grades in undernourished children. Increased frequency of habitual breakfast was consistently positively associated with academic performance. Some evidence suggested that quality of habitual breakfast, in terms of providing a greater variety of food groups and adequate energy, was positively related to school performance. However, these associations can be attributed, in part, to confounders such as SES and to methodological weaknesses such as the subjective nature of the observations of behavior in class.