Abstract
BackgroundAs the first meal of the day, breakfast plays an important role in supplying energy and nutrients, which are critical to working and learning activities. A three-phase crossover study was designed to investigate the effects of breakfast on cognitive function among Chinese white-collar workers. The planned study protocol is presented.MethodsA total of 264 participants aged 25–45 years will be recruited from Shenyang and Chongqing. Self-administered questionnaires will be used to collect information on age, gender, marital status, education level, occupation, smoking habits, drinking habits, and breakfast behaviours. The participants will be randomly assigned to 3 equal-sized groups (Groups A, B, and C) and will be provided with a nutrition-adequate breakfast, a nutrition-inadequate breakfast, or no breakfast, respectively. Each participant will receive the breakfast treatment on the basis of assignment to one of three sequences (ABC/BCA/CAB). Each participant will complete a battery of cognitive tests assessing short-term memory, attention, and working memory 120 minutes after breakfast. Mood will be measured through a self-administered questionnaire assessing the dimensions of positive and negative frames of mind. Additionally, fasting blood glucose and postprandial 2-hour blood glucose levels will be tested with a blood-glucose meter (Roche ACCU-CHEK®-Performa). All the participants will take all the tests in three successive weeks, and the order of presentation will be counter-balanced across groups.DiscussionThe present study will be the first investigation of the effect of breakfast food type and quality on cognitive function amongst white-collar workers in China. We predict that a nutrition-adequate breakfast, compared with a nutrition-inadequate breakfast and no breakfast, will significantly improve short-term cognitive function. The results of this study should provide scientific evidence of the effect of breakfast quality on cognitive function and provide scientific data to inform nutrition education strategies and promote a healthy lifestyle.Trial registrationChinese clinical trial registry (Primary registry in the WHO registry network) Registration number: ChiCTR-IPR-15007114. Date of registration: August 25, 2015.
Highlights
As the first meal of the day, breakfast plays an important role in supplying energy and nutrients [1]
A low-quality breakfast leads to lower work efficiency, a large compensatory increase in food intake at the meal and excessive burden on the gastrointestinal tract [3]
Previous studies have indicated that skipping breakfast no or consuming a lowquality breakfast is harmful for health [4, 5]
Summary
As the first meal of the day, breakfast plays an important role in supplying energy and nutrients, which are critical to working and learning activities. As the first meal of the day, breakfast plays an important role in supplying energy and nutrients [1]. A high-quality breakfast can provide adequate energy and nutrients for working and learning activities [2]. A low-quality breakfast leads to lower work efficiency, a large compensatory increase in food intake at the meal and excessive burden on the gastrointestinal tract [3]. An adequate breakfast can maintain the body’s needs for activities and reduce the risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and other chronic diseases [6]. Research findings have demonstrated that people who eat breakfast every day have a 35 to 50% lower risk of obesity and diabetes than their counterparts who do not eat breakfast or eat breakfast occasionally [7]
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