The group that had a Korean-style breakfast demonstrated the highest level of stability and learning capacity. (image: Lotte Department Store)
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Science has once again proved that eating breakfast raises the learning capacity of teenagers.
The Rural Development Administration announced Thursday that in a joint study with the Korea Food Research Institute, breakfast better ensures stability, raises learning capacity, and promotes physical health among teenagers.
The research team conducted a study of 81 teenagers from North Jeolla Province, who were divided into three groups.
One group was offered a Korean-style breakfast, and another group was offered a Western-style breakfast. The last group wasn’t offered any breakfast.
The study took place over a period of 10 weeks, after which the results showed that the group that had a Korean-style breakfast demonstrated the highest level of stability and learning capacity, followed by the group that had a Western-style breakfast, and the group that skipped breakfast.
Analysis of the group that had a Korean-style breakfast showed that the level of neurotransmitters such as GABA (11.4 percent), dopamine (13 percent), and brain-derived neurotrophic factors (25.5 percent) were higher than for the group that skipped breakfast.
The Brief Cognitive Rating Scale (BCRS) and tests to measure the level of attentive concentration and comprehension showed that the group that had a Korean-style breakfast surpassed the learning capacity of the group that skipped breakfast by factors of 3, 4.7, and 15.6, respectively.
An electroencephalogram conducted to measure the level of psychological health showed that the brain’s alpha waves, indicators of stability and calmness, and beta waves, indicators of attention and concentration, among the group that had a Korean-style breakfast both surpassed the group that skipped breakfast by 30 percent and 70 percent, respectively.
Clinical indices used to analyze metabolic syndromes including obesity showed that the group that had a Korean-style breakfast had lower levels of body fat, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance than the group that skipped breakfast.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
