Preparing To Send Your Children Off To School? Healthy Breakfast, Lunch and Snack Ideas From Cabot(R) Can Contribute to a Better, More Productive S...( Studies Show Good Nutrition Impro...),Health

Studies Show Good Nutrition Improves Mental, Physical And Behavioral

Performance In School-age Children

CABOT, Vt., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Who out there hasn't been told you need to start your day off with a healthy breakfast? Apparently more folks than you might ever imagine. According to the American Dietetic Association, more than 40 percent of girls and 32 percent of boys who are of school age, skip breakfast on a regular basis.

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Why are so many school kids starting off their day without eating what many health experts agree is the most important meal of the day? The reasons seem endless: they over-sleep, their parents are too busy, they want to lose weight, they are too rushed or they simply don't want to be bothered making the meal. Some of these excuses are understandable -- but none are good reasons for skipping the most critical meal of the day.

"Better academic and physical performance are just two of the benefits that eating a healthy breakfast (and lunch) can provide," says Sara Wing, Registered Dietitian and Cabot Health Spokesperson. "They also provide your children with about half the vitamins and nutrients they need daily. As parents, it is important that we ensure our children are getting these meals by providing quick, easy and healthy food options."

According to a recent study by pediatricians at the famed Boys Town Pediatrics in Omaha, Nebraska, breakfast affects a child's overall performance during school by:
-- providing energy needed to start the day

-- eliminating hunger symptoms such as headache, fatigue and restlessness

-- helping them to think faster and to respond more clearly to teacher

questions

-- increase mental performance

-- making them less likely to be irritable

-- caus
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