The Effects of Healthy Breakfasts on 10th Grade Students' Academic Performance and Classroom Behavior

Abstract

This action research was designed to determine whether eating a healthy breakfast benefits academic performance and classroom behavior among tenth grade students. All student participants were from a small rural school district. Students participated in the study for three weeks. Each day of the study, they completed a breakfast consumption checklist and a short memory test. Students also completed pre- and post-experiment surveys about breakfast habits and classroom behavior. The students were given information about the benefits of healthy breakfasts during the second week of the study. They were provided with healthy breakfast foods during the third week of the study. Fifty-eight percent of students increased their memory test scores from week one to week two, when they ate a healthy breakfast, and 79% of students increased their scores from week two to week three. Sixty-seven percent of students reported that they felt they performed better on the tests on the days they ate a healthy breakfast. All students reported that they were either less tired or experienced the same amount of tiredness as usual on the days they ate a healthy breakfast. All students also reported that they participated and were able to pay attention either the same or more than usual on the days they ate a healthy breakfast. Eighty-three percent of the students reported that they knew the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast prior to the study, yet only 21% of students reported that they always eat breakfast.