Breakfast and Physical Performance: Summary of Recent Evidence

There is strong evidence that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and is an essential component of a healthy diet. This has been supported by several cross-sectional and intervention studies, which established the beneficial effects of regular breakfast intake on energy balance, energy expenditure, appetite, appetite hormones, a variety of metabolic parameters, and overall health in different populations. On the other hand, breakfast skipping was associated with higher odds of psychosocial problems, poor academic performance, adiposity markers, metabolic health disturbances, and lower diet quality. Not to forget though that social inequalities were found to be a strong determinant of meal-skipping behaviours, especially in children and adolescents. The role of breakfast intake in the modulation of physical performance and cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, in interaction with physical activity and sedentary time, has increasingly been explored but more studies are still needed.

This Research Topic aims to communicate up-to-date, evidence-based knowledge on how breakfast intake and other lifestyle habits such as physical activity and exercise interact and influence physical performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, and metabolic health in children, adolescents, adults, and older adults.

All forms of manuscripts, including experimental papers, narrative reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and short communications, are welcomed. Potential sub-topics include, but are not limited to:
• Association of breakfast skipping with physical performance in various populations and age groups (children and adolescents; adults; older adults).
• Acute effects of breakfast intake on physical performance and cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Long-term effects of breakfast intake on physical performance and cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Effect of the interaction between breakfast intake and physical activity/exercise on cardiometabolic markers.
• Effect of the interaction between breakfast intake and physical activity/exercise on physical performance and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Keywords: Breakfast, Physical Performance, Physical Activity, Fitness, Performance, Exercise, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Breakfast Intake, Breakfast Skipping

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.