New research claims there is a strong link between missing breakfast and low life satisfaction in children and teenagers. Experts from the UK’s Anglia Ruskin University and Mexico’s Universidad de las Américas carried out the study, which draws on data from almost 150,000 young people aged between 10 and 17 from 42 countries, including the UK. The research has been published in the BMC Nutrition Journal, asserting the standpoint that a daily meal in the morning is very important for overall well-being.
In that regard, the study established that children who skip breakfast normally stated having low satisfaction in life compared to their age-mates who take the morning meal regularly. “Our study was very comprehensive and showed a consistent association between frequency of breakfast and life satisfaction,” said first author Professor Lee Smith of ARU. He added that previous studies showed how skipping breakfast is associated with low moods, anxiety, stress, and depression in adolescents.
Although kids in Portugal who nearly always had breakfast were the top scorers in levels of life satisfaction, the kids from Romania who never had breakfast rated their lives at the lowest levels. Even among the kids who ate breakfast every day, those living in England ranked in fifth to last place in life satisfaction—only ahead of Romania, Hungary, Germany, and Austria.
The research findings showed that breakfast had benefits other than just being nutritional. A usual morning meal supplied vital vitamins and minerals necessary for normal brain operation, attention, memory, and learning. “Eating a nutritious breakfast helps fuel the brain and provides the energy and nutrients needed for optimal cognitive functioning,” Smith said. He also noted that part of having a routine that includes breakfast can put people in a good mood to face their day and add to general happiness.
Although there existed some cultural and socio-economic variations, it was revealed that generally, children who ate breakfast every day were found to be much happier than those who never did. Much can be derived from the findings by parents, teachers, and legislators, and measures put in place to encourage healthy eating right from childhood. It can be as simple as school breakfast programs to inculcate healthy options and teach the young—the value of nutrition and a balanced diet.
In other words, the research links to a deeper finding: breakfast isn’t so much about the food but rather an important factor for a healthy, happy life. Having these mornings, and taking the time to have a meal, could be quite simple but enormously effective in the overall well-being, laying a base for an improved existence of a healthier and happier generation of individuals.