School breakfast improves verbal fluency in undernourished Jamaican children
J Nutr
; 125(4): 894-900, 1995.
Article
in En
| MedCarib
| ID: med-5878
Responsible library:
JM3.1
Localization: JM3.1; Reprint collection
ABSTRACT
School feeding programs exist in many countries, but few have been properly evaluated. In this study, the short-term effects of breakfast on children's cognitive functions were examined. The subjects were 97 undernourished (weight-for-age < or = -1 SD of reference) and 100 adequately nourished (weight-for-age > -1 SD) children in four primary schools in rural Jamaica. The children were randomly assigned to a group provided with breakfast or a group given a quarter of an orange as a placebo, and the given a battery of four cognitive function tests. After a few weeks the treatments were reversed and the tests repeated. Undernourished children's performance improved significantly on a test of verbal fluency when they received breakfast, whereas that of the adequately nourished children did not change (breakfast x group interaction, P < 0.05). They were no other effects of breakfast on test scores. The findings extend those of a previous Jamaican study conducted under more controlled conditions, and support the targeting of school meals to undernourished children (AU)
Search on Google
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MedCarib
Main subject:
Speech
/
Diet
/
Nutrition Disorders
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Caribe ingles
/
Jamaica
Language:
En
Journal:
J Nutr
Year:
1995
Document type:
Article