A small pilot study tested whether breakfast changed thinking skills in 46 college students aged 18 to 25 at one mid-Atlantic university. Of these, 19 had a documented ADHD diagnosis and 27 did not. Most were Caucasian and female. In the ADHD group, 89% took stimulant medicine daily but were tested without it. Usual breakfast skipping was reported by 47% of the ADHD group and 33% of the others.
Students were tested while fasting and again one hour after a nutritionally balanced breakfast shake. Each group improved in four of eight thinking areas versus its own fasted results. Both groups got faster at processing information and better at executive function. Students without ADHD also improved in psychomotor and motor speed. Students with ADHD also improved in complex attention and in mental flexibility. These gains were unlikely to be down to chance, though the paper did not report their size. After accounting for age, sex, grades and year in school, students with ADHD were more likely than the others to improve their reaction time.
The study was small, so it could only detect the largest effects. Same-day testing ruled out measuring memory, and smoking, alcohol and drug use were not tracked. The authors suggest a balanced breakfast may help college students think, and that students with ADHD might eat breakfast before taking stimulant medicine, since it may reduce appetite. They say a larger study must confirm this first.
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The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Brandley, 2020: change in processing speed after breakfast, controls P = .04; ADHD P = .03.
- Brandley, 2020: change in executive function after breakfast, controls P = .04; ADHD P = .01.
- Brandley, 2020: change in psychomotor speed after breakfast in controls, P = .003.
- Brandley, 2020: change in motor speed after breakfast in controls, P = .01.
- Brandley, 2020: change in complex attention after breakfast in the ADHD group, P = .04.
- Brandley, 2020: change in cognitive flexibility after breakfast in the ADHD group, P = .01.
- Brandley, 2020: odds that students with ADHD improved in reaction time compared with students without ADHD, after adjustment, odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.07 [1.00 to 1.15], P = .04, which the authors describe as 7% more likely. What the terms mean:
- P value The chance of seeing a result this strong if there were no real change; below .05 is usually read as unlikely to be down to chance.
- Odds ratio How much more likely one group was to show a change than another; 1 means no difference.
- 95% confidence interval The range where the true value probably lies.
Source: Brandley E, Holton K. Breakfast Positively Impacts Cognitive Function in College Students With and Without ADHD. American Journal of Health Promotion (2020). doi:10.1177/0890117120903235