title: Methodological Challenges in Studies Examining the Effects of Breakfast on Cognitive Performance and Appetite in Children and Adolescents.
abstract: Breakfast is purported to confer a number of benefits on diet quality, health, appetite regulation, and cognitive performance. However, new evidence has challenged the long-held belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This review aims to provide a comprehensive discussion of the key methodological challenges and considerations in studies assessing the effect of breakfast on cognitive performance and appetite control, along with recommendations for future research. This review focuses on the myriad challenges involved in studying children and adolescents specifically. Key methodological challenges and considerations include study design and location, sampling and sample section, choice of objective cognitive tests, choice of objective and subjective appetite measures, merits of providing a fixed breakfast compared with ad libitum, assessment and definition of habitual breakfast consumption, transparency of treatment condition, difficulty of isolating the direct effects of breakfast consumption, untangling acute and chronic effects, and influence of confounding variables. These methodological challenges have hampered a clear substantiation of the potential positive effects of breakfast on cognition and appetite control and contributed to the debate questioning the notion that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
authors.affiliation: Human Appetite Research Unit, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0655-1025
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adolphus
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Community Services, School of Nutrition, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bellissimo
authors.affiliation: Human Appetite Research Unit, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Clare L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2341-0793
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lawton
authors.affiliation: Hass Avocado Board, Mission Viejo, CA; and.
authors.forename: Nikki A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.affiliation: Egg Nutrition Center, Park Ridge, IL.
authors.forename: Tia M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Rains
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Community Services, School of Nutrition, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-5143
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Totosy de Zepetnek
authors.affiliation: Human Appetite Research Unit, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom; l.dye@leeds.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2331-4227
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dye
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D001066:Appetite; D001069:Appetite Regulation; D062408:Breakfast; D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health; D003071:Cognition; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design
keywords: appetite; breakfast; cognitive performance; methodological considerations; methods