(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-29 13:58

A new study shows big breakfasts are more important than every before, especially for teens.[Agencies]

Adding a piece of fruit or a glass of milk to a teenager's breakfast may help protect them from depression, anxiety and disobedience, Australian research suggests.

A study of more than 800 students has found that a complex breakfast is directly linked to better mental health irrespective of family income, the student's weight or exercise routine.

Students who ate from more food groups for their morning meal scored higher on a child behaviour checklist, with an improvement in mood seen for every extra food type added.

"It didn't matter what they added, just that they added something different like a banana to their cereal to make that meal more complete with vitamins and minerals," said lead researcher Therese O'Sullivan, from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth.

"From what we found, that makes a huge difference."

The team enlisted 14-year-old girls and boys and analysed their breakfast intake over three days.

They found that just one in four teens ate a high quality breakfast containing three or more of the five food groups, cereals, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, and meats and alternatives like beans, nuts and eggs.

"The overwhelming number just ate from two groups, and too many have just one or none at all, so there is much room for improvement," Ms O'Sullivan said.

The results were compared the students' behavioural scores in a complex questionnaire completed by their parents.

"For every additional food group added the mental health status improved markedly across the sample, and this was regardless of the family income, socio-economic status, the child's exercise (routine), weight and the rest of their diet."

She said this may be because mental functioning is affected by the absorption of a variety of nutrients.

Cereal and milk in particular supply calcium, iron and B vitamins that assist neurotransmitters, chemicals needed to transfer information in the nervous systems that are directly responsible for behaviour and mood.

Breakfast has long been thought vital but research has proven it is most important pre-adulthood as young people are not able to store nutrients as effectively.

"The liver stores nutrients, but kids have a much smaller liver, so until they become fully grown they can't store nutrients as effectively," the dietician said.

"For that reason breakfast is the most important way for them to get vitamins and minerals for brain function needed after the overnight fast."

The research will be presented at the national dieticians conference on the Gold Coast this week.