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(DAILY_WILDCAT)

pacing the void

By John Brown
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 7, 1997

Breakfast gives an edge to students taking finals


[photograph]


Photo Illustration By Kristy Mangos


Before students battle their final exams, they should eat their Wheaties, according to UA nutritionists and a recent national study.

"Someone going into a final without eating breakfast is at a disadvantage to someone who has," said Paige Holm, a nutrition graduate student at the Campus Health Center.

Maggie Greeley, a nutrition graduate student who works at the Student Recreation Center's Wellness Center, said a good breakfast is a vital component in increasing the focus and concentration necessary for test taking.

"Eating a good breakfast is the number one advice I give people," Greeley said.

Some students on campus realized the importance of starting their day off with a healthy breakfast.

"When I don't eat breakfast, I feel dead," said nursing student Adam DaDeppo.

Carlee Gold, a pre-education freshman, said, "I never eat breakfast but I know I should."

In addition, Greeley said people who eat breakfast are less likely to get really hungry later in the day and go on afternoon eating binges.

A study published in April by the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Achievement indicated that elementary school students who ate breakfast showed significant improvement in math and reading test scores.

The results of the two-year study suggest that students who start their day with a nutritious breakfast can increase their test scores up to 16 percent.

"This school breakfast study is the first long-term, comprehensive study that links the effects of eating a nutritious breakfast to educational achievement," said Mary Begalle of the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning.

"It proves what educators have known for years: Hungry children don't learn well," she said.

Greeley said that even though adults can choose to suppress their hunger, it is as equally important for them to eat properly as it is for children.

Holm said glucose is the only form of energy the brain and the central nervous system use. She said that from the time students go to sleep to the time they wake up, most will go through a 10 to 12 hour span without eating.

During this time, which is similar to fasting, the body's blood sugar level drops significantly, resulting in an inadequate supply of glucose to the brain and central nervous system.

She said the lack of blood glucose for the brain could seriously affect the performance of the student.

The three energy-providing nutrients for the body are carbohydrates, protein and fat, Holm said. Of these three, she said carbohydrates are the best source of glucose.

Deena Amdurer, a media arts junior, said she does not eat breakfast all the time, but when she does, she usually eats a bagel with cream cheese.

Holm said the ideal breakfast for students should include foods with high amounts of carbohydrates, like bagels, fruit, cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, pancakes or even just a PowerBar.

Because fat is the only nutrient that tells the body it is full, she said students should add fatty foods like butter, cream cheese and fiber to their breakfast diet.

Troy Zien, a media arts senior, said, "I usually don't eat breakfast, but before finals I do."

Zien offered a different theory that could explain the correlation between eating breakfast and test results.

"Maybe the students who are up early enough to eat breakfast every day are just more studious," he said.


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