Aspects of nutritional deficits and cognitive outcomes – Triangulation across time and subject domains among students and teachers in TIMSS

Abstract

This article describes associations between breakfast intake and school achievements among Norwegian 9th graders in 2015 and 2019. The study involved a representative sample based on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), N = 4499 (2015) and N = 4685 (2019). This trend study using structural equation modelling and triangulation revealed a significant positive association between breakfast intake and school achievements among Norwegian 9th graders. This was found for both mathematics and science achievements, in 2015 and 2019, reported both by the students and their teachers. Mediation analyses showed that being hungry at school explained a third of the decrease in science achievement and more than half of the decrease in mathematics achievement from 2015 to 2019.