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P--------

Professor

English 1102

May 2nd, 2022

Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

My annotated bibliography asks the question: Is breakfast really the most important meal

of the day? Eating breakfast in the morning can have positive effects on someone’s day, making

it the most important meal. I have chosen this topic because I have noticed that not only is almost

everyone familiar with this popular saying; they also seem to believe it too. The research I have

found tends to point to yes, but the opposing sides would have some studies that have hardly

enough evidence to draw that conclusion. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is a

common phrase used to push people and persuade them to eat in the morning while believing this

can cause higher levels of energy throughout the day. The purpose of this annotated bibliography

is to inform and report information to the reader regarding facts about breakfast in the morning

and the effects it has on different groups of people throughout their day. This topic is not only

internationally important but also still important today. Everyone can be affected by this topic.

For the most part, we see positive effects from eating breakfast, but is that always the case?

Experts like Rekha, Rani with “Importance of Not Skipping Breakfast: A Review” and Katie

Adolphus with “Ready-to-Eat Cereal and Milk for Breakfast Compared with No Breakfast Has a

Positive Acute Effect on Cognitive Function and Subjective State in 11-13-Year-Olds: A School-

Based, Randomized, Controlled, Parallel Groups Trial.” and others talk about this in more

depth. For the most part, they agree. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
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Arndt Anderson, Heather. Breakfast: A History. AltaMira Press, a Division of Rowman &

Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2013. Accessed 24 March 2022.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Breakfast/5LghYCqDJw8C?hl=en&gbpv=0

This eBook source is about Breakfast and the history of certain breakfast foods.

Anderson talks about why she thinks that breakfast is the most important meal of the day

and calls it a “phenomenon.” Not only does she talk about where certain foods are

commonly eaten, but she also speaks about where and how the meal came to be in the

first place and what makes it so important to the culture. The eBook continues to state

specific reasons that these certain foods are seen as “indispensable.” This source was

written by Heather Arndt Anderson and is reliable because the publisher AltaMira Press

is known for its information on similar topics. This source will be useful for my topic

because to understand why breakfast I considered the most important meal of the day; it

is important to note why these meals became meals and staples in so many lives.

Rani, Rekha, et al. “Importance of Not Skipping Breakfast: A Review.” International Journal of

Food Science & Technology, vol. 56, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 28–38. EBSCOhost. Accessed

24 March 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.14742.

This scholarly article is about different health surveys and studies about eating

breakfast in the morning and how it positively affects different people. There are also

facts about how skipping breakfast has a negative effect on people due to several reasons.

Eating breakfast can help someone's mood, memory, and even work ethic, making it

arguably the most important meal of the day. This source was written by Rekha Rani and

a couple of others. This source is reliable because the publisher International Journal of

Food Science & Technology is well known for its knowledge of food science. They are

also known for their specific types of food studies. They even have full articles on
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specific types of food and the science behind these foods. This source is predominant for

my research because the various health surveys are going to be essential to have

knowledge of the effects that breakfast in the morning can have on your brain. This

source will also come in handy because of its surveys and are harder to find in popular

sources compared to this scholarly article. The different studies will help gather a

plethora of different survey information based on the kind of research that will be done.

Adolphus, Katie, et al. “Ready-to-Eat Cereal and Milk for Breakfast Compared with No

Breakfast Has a Positive Acute Effect on Cognitive Function and Subjective State in 11-

13-Year-Olds: A School-Based, Randomised, Controlled, Parallel Groups Trial.”

European Journal of Nutrition, vol. 60, no. 6, Sept. 2021, pp. 3325–42. EBSCOhost.

Accessed 24 March 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02506-2.

This scholarly article was written about the effects of breakfast compared to no

breakfast in someone's day-to-day life. This source was less about the type of breakfast

and more about the “cognitive function” comparison for both eating and not eating

breakfast in the morning. They took about 240 children ages 11-13 and separated them

into two groups: Breakfast and no breakfast. They then tested the groups and found that

those who had breakfast in the morning reached a higher level of tests total than the

group that had no breakfast that morning. This source is reliable because it gives specific

details talking about exactly what goes on in the experiment including the amount of

food, the number of kids, the age range, and the percentages of kids who move on to the

higher levels of testing. Another reason this source is reliable is that the date is not from

too long ago. This survey was done in 2011 and it is doubtful that the quality of cereal

has really changed from ten to now. This source will be good for me to use when writing

about my research because it is a specific test to cite evidence from. Compared to the
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other scholarly article that was chosen, this article is one specific test compared to a

couple of different ones. This one really puts a microscope on the specifics of the survey

in comparison to the other sources. The conclusion backs up the argument that breakfast

is in fact the most important meal of the day.

Betts JA, Richardson JD, Chowdhury EA, Holman GD, Tsintzas K, Thompson D, 2014, The

causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in

lean adults, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 539–547.

Accessed 24 March 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24898233/

This source focuses on the popular belief that breakfast is the most important

meal of the day. The objective of this source was to create a trail of random adults and

observe their breakfast habits in comparison to their energy throughout the adult's day.

This source is different from the previous source because the authors had less control

over the study. This source is highly reliable because the National Library of Medicine

and the publisher, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is known for their

understanding of health studies. The source also shows that they were not entirely

specific in areas like age, but that either way, their conclusions were consistent. This

source will be a great help for my research because it has a more general study. It also

focuses on adults instead of children here so that there is a better understanding to see if

breakfast is only important for only kids in the morning or the entire public. This article

will be the opposing side of my research because the survey concluded that eating

breakfast calls for higher amounts of energy, but that was it. This is the only source I will

be using that has stated that breakfast has had no positive effects on the daily lives of a

group of people. There are statistics and percentages in this study and sources that will
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help give more information on the opposing side and see a different form of study

regarding breakfast being the most important meal of the day contrary to popular belief.

Mgunter, Jane. “Do You Really Need to Eat Breakfast?” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, 1

Feb. 2022. Accessed 24 March 2022.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-you-really-need-to-eat-breakfast/.

This popular source asks the question, “Is breakfast really important?” The article

talks about the benefits of eating breakfast in the morning compared to if someone eats

no breakfast in the morning. This source goes less into detail about the negatives and is

overall the broadest source. One thing that this article especially talks about is a certain

time or time frame where someone should eat breakfast in addition to the other

information. This source lists examples of certain foods that are healthy for breakfast and

that seem to be recommended. This source can be considered reliable because it was

updated and looked over again recently and they have a page all about their clinic and

what they do. They claim to specialize in nutrition, which is why certain examples of

food are listed and why certain times are a priority in this article as opposed to the entire

detailed effect on a child's brain compared to an adult etc. The article even stresses

breakfast to the point where they give alternatives like smoothies to make sure that the

importance of breakfast comes across. This article will be crucial to my research along

with the other sources because it gives a simplified version of the main points to take

away from the entire study. At the same time, it gives specific details and nutritional

ideas like what time someone should eat after they wake up and what foods would be best

in the morning. The other articles and sources do not mention a time frame as this article

does and this could have some effect on the research.

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A quote that almost everyone has heard before is “breakfast is the most important meal of

the day.” Many people blindly follow this without much research as to whether or not this is true.

My thesis claims that breakfast is in fact the most important meal of the day. Multiple studies

have shown positive side effects to eating breakfast in the morning and many of these studies

have a controlled group who does not eat breakfast and continue to get the same results.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Before being able to understand why breakfast could potentially be the most important

meal of the day, it could also be important to know, where did eating breakfast even start? Does

everyone eat pancakes in the morning, or does it vary depending on the place? What foods- if

any- have a positive impact? And how do these foods affect everyday life? Heather Anderson is

the author of the book Breakfast: A History. This book goes into detail about breakfast foods and

where they are commonly eaten. Anderson also mentions why different foods are considered

“indispensable” and positive findings of food importance. Breakfast is named this way because it

is meant to show one literally “breaking the fast” known as sleeping. It is supposed to break this

fast for someone and give them energy for their day. So, does breakfast do this? Anderson and

other sources yet to be cited, push towards “yes.” Anderson helps point out that breakfast started

to own its “rightful claim” in the middle of the 15th century. From then on, influencers of its time

continued to push for breakfast to be normalized, and eventually, it was. And unsurprisingly, it

has still stuck around today. In North America, eggs and cereal are the most common breakfast

foods while in South America, it’s a sandwich or fruit. In Europe, several types of bread are the

most common. The most common kind of breakfast in Asia is bread and rice. All of these foods

are equally important in the morning because regardless of what someone chooses to eat it will

give your day a positive impact, changing even someone's mood.

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The phrase “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is used so frequently that

everyone knows it. But does everyone agree? Although there are a plethora of studies proving

that breakfast has a positive impact on an individual regarding mood, memory, health, and

energy, James A Betts and others conducted a study that says otherwise. The objective of this

source was to create a trial of random adults and observe their breakfast habits in comparison to

their energy throughout the adult's day. And although the groups for the study were randomized

individuals, the results remained consistent. The source “The causal role of breakfast in energy

balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in lean adults” by Betts JA (2014) argues,

“Cardiovascular health indexes were unaffected by either of the treatments.” This means they

have found that the health of those who ate breakfast was unaffected compared to those who did

not. This opposition is argued throughout the source despite the acknowledgment stated in the

source of the improvement in energy levels in an individual’s day. And although the source

somewhat agrees with my thesis, it pushes on the fact that breakfast might not be completely

important in all ways when it comes to day-to-day life. On the other hand, other sources like

“Ready-to-Eat Cereal and Milk for Breakfast Compared with No Breakfast Has a Positive Acute

Effect on Cognitive Function and Subjective State in 11-13-Year-Olds: A School-Based,

Randomized, Controlled, Parallel Groups Trial.” by Katie Adolphus (2021) involving eleven to

thirteen-year-olds says otherwise. Adolphus states that there is in fact an effect, but that it seems

to be “acute.” The conclusion of this source argues, “…breakfast consumption has a positive

acute effect on subjective state, attention, reaction time, and memory in adolescents.” Although

the effects were small, they were still existent in the study. So, do these tests prove enough to

argue that breakfast is the most important meal? If the effects are small, does that take away from

the fact that the effects were still proven to be positive?

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When talking about breakfast being the most important meal of the day, it is important to

see what studies and sources really push to make this a point. Rekha Rani and others working for

the well-known International Journal of Food Science & Technology write the source

“Importance of Not Skipping Breakfast: A Review.” Rani states, “...studies reported morning

meals positive effect on memory recall, children performance, mood, work performance,

cognitive function...” along with other benefits of eating breakfast. This thorough list shows the

benefits found of eating breakfast in the morning and there are quite a few. This relates to my

thesis because not only are these benefits positive, but they can also be used to help determine if

breakfast is even important at all. Other important questions that can support this thesis are:

What kind of breakfast helps to obtain these results; When or what times is it best to eat? These

questions can also be an essential part of truly understanding why so many agree with the thesis.

Jane Mgunter has written, “Do You Really Need to Eat Breakfast?” This popular source takes a

brief, yet descriptive approach on how to make breakfast foods that have a positive effect on

someone's day. But Mgunter also brings up another point; the time someone eats breakfast and

what they specifically eat have a huge impact on whether the effects are positive or non-existent.

She claims that it is not necessarily what time someone eats, but also how long after someone

wakes up. Mgunter pushes the idea that regardless of the time someone gets going, they should

“put something in their stomach” no later than two hours after they wake up. This should

improve their morning tremendously even if everyone were to wake up at a different time.

Regardless of how hectic someone's morning is, breakfast should be one of the priorities before

starting a new day. Around 25% of Americans skip breakfast regularly giving 75% of Americans

a head start daily.

Although many people tend to forget breakfast for multiple reasons, it is imperative they

know the benefits they could gain from eating. They are likely to have their mood, focus levels,
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and alertness worsened if they don’t have breakfast especially compared to an individual who

has eaten breakfast. Regardless of the time of day when someone wakes up or whatever healthy

food they put in their stomach, eating breakfast causes too many positive effects that simply

wouldn't be worth skipping making it the most important meal of the day.