Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40037629›Full record

ArticlePublic health nutrition2025

Breakfast skipping and academic achievement at 8-16 years: a population study in South Australia.

Alanna Sincovich, Neida Sechague Monroy, Lisa G Smithers, Mary Brushe, Zara Boulton, Tia Rozario, Tess Gregory

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Article in Public health nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Alanna SincovichThe Kids Research Institute Australia, University of Western Australia, Ground Floor, 108 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA5000, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4723-5045
Neida Sechague MonroyThe Kids Research Institute Australia, University of Western Australia, Ground Floor, 108 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA5000, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6679-9041
Lisa G SmithersSchool of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Level 4, 50 Rundle Mall Plaza, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6585-7836
Mary BrusheThe Kids Research Institute Australia, University of Western Australia, Ground Floor, 108 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA5000, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-8025-8535
Zara BoultonThe Kids Research Institute Australia, University of Western Australia, Ground Floor, 108 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA5000, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2867-4704
Tia RozarioSchool of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Robertson Hall, 20 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, NJ08540, USA.
Tess GregoryThe Kids Research Institute Australia, University of Western Australia, Ground Floor, 108 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA5000, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4799-6258

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveWhile studies have highlighted a link between breakfast consumption and cognitive performance, evidence for how breakfast influences academic outcomes is mixed. This study explored the association between student breakfast skipping and academic achievement.

designThis cross-sectional investigation employed population data. Self-reported breakfast consumption was used to categorise students as never, sometimes and always breakfast skippers. Scores on five standardised literacy and numeracy tests were used to classify students to have low or high achievement according to national minimum standards. Poisson regression analyses estimated the relative risk (RR) of low academic achievement among students across breakfast skipping categories, adjusting for student, family and community-level confounding.

settingGovernment schools in South Australia.

participantsParticipants included 28 651 students in grades 5, 7 and 9 (aged 8-16 years).

resultsOverall, 32·3 % of students reported never skipping breakfast, 57·6 % reported sometimes skipping and 10·1 % reported they always skip breakfast. Students who sometimes and always skipped breakfast had an increased risk of low achievement on all five tests, after adjustment for confounding. Greatest risk for low achievement was on numeracy (RR = 1·78, 95 % CI 1·64, 1·94) and reading (RR = 1·63, 95 % CI 1·49, 1·77) among students who always skipped breakfast. Students who sometimes skipped breakfast were also at increased risk for low achievement, though not as higher risk as that among students who reported skipping breakfast every day.

conclusionsResults suggest breakfast consumption plays an important role in academic success. Supports to promote regular student breakfast consumption may be one mechanism through which education stakeholders and policymakers can strengthen academic achievement.

Indexed as

Academic SuccessBreakfastFeeding BehaviorAdolescentChildCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansIntermittent FastingMaleSchoolsSouth AustraliaStudentsAcademic performanceBreakfast consumptionBreakfast skippingNAPLANSchool-aged studentsStandardised academic scoresWellbeing and Engagement Collection

Identifiers

PMID40037629
PMCPMC11883582

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.