Breakfast plays a vital role in maintaining physical health, cognitive development, and emotional stability among school children. With increasing dependence on ready-to-eat (RTE) food products, concerns have emerged regarding their long-term impact compared to traditional home-made meals. The present comparative observational study evaluated 90 school children divided into two groups based on breakfast habits: home-made breakfast (n=45) and ready-to-eat breakfast (n=45). Parameters assessed included digestive status, defecation pattern, sporting performance, concentration in study, emotional anger, sleep quality, and fatigue. Statistical analysis using Independent Student’s t-test revealed highly significant improvements in digestive health, academic concentration, sleep quality, and reduced fatigue among children consuming home-made breakfast (p < 0.001). The study concludes that home-prepared breakfast demonstrates superior holistic health benefits compared to ready-to-eat breakfast.
Dr. Shireesh Shrivastava (Thu,) studied this question.