One in 10 kids don’t eat breakfast in the morning and experts say it’s affecting their learning

The new study of almost 30,000 SA students revealed a link between skipping breakfast and poor academic results.

Students who skip breakfast achieve worse results in national literacy and numeracy testing, as a new study reveals one in ten South Australian kids reported never eating in the morning.

The study of nearly 30,000 SA students by The Kids Research Institute, revealed that students who never at breakfast were almost twice as likely to perform poorly on NAPLAN numeracy tests.

Students were 1.6 times more likely to perform poorly on reading tests.

Kids who skipped breakfast sometimes or every day were both at an increased risk of being at or below the national minimum standards for NAPLAN.

Study co-author and adjunct associate professor at the University of Adelaide Dr Tess Gregory said the results revealed “clear evidence of the link between skipping breakfast and poorer academic outcomes”.

The results of the study, which analysed responses from kids aged between 8 and 16, consistently showed risk of low achievement across all of the five NAPLAN tests.

Of the 28,651 students, almost 58 per cent reported skipping breakfast one to six days a week, while more than 10 per cent admitted they never ate in the morning.

“We all know that if we’re hungry, it’s harder to concentrate,” Dr Gregory said.

“For some families it may be a question of not having enough food to put on the table, for others, it may be time pressures or children simply not liking breakfast.

“Young people may be deliberating restricting food for reasons related to weight and body image.”

NAPLAN testing begins nationally on March 12.

Student Kaylee Thomas, 14, said without eating breakfast it is difficult to concentrate. Picture: Tim Joy

Year 8 student at SYC Kaylee Thomas receives her breakfast three times a week from KickStart for Kids.

Across the state, KickStart provides 70,000 breakfasts a week.

Without eating breakfast in the morning, Kaylee, 14, said it was “difficult to concentrate”.

“When I have breakfast it’s easier and I feel happier,” said the teen who wants to be a flight attendant.

KickStart for Kids Founder Ian Steel said “it’s a no-brainer” that kids get better results at school when they eat breakfast.

“It correlates directly to their learning,” Mr Steel said.

“They need to be moulded by the teachers and that comes through not being hungry.”

When Mr Steel works with hungry children who have not eaten in the morning, he sees them “not ready to learn, they’re disruptive and they’re angry”.

He said the cost of living crisis is contributing to students not eating in the morning.

“Families are doing it tough at the moment and they’re putting it (money) towards something else other than breakfast,” Mr Steel said.

“Everything’s gone up and families are doing it really tough.

Originally published as One in 10 kids don’t eat breakfast in the morning and experts say it’s affecting their learning