Breakfast is food for the brain and for the rest of your body. And downing those morning calories is worth it, even for people worried about their weight, a new study finds.
The study was led by Marlene Schwartz, a psychologists (心理学家) who studies obesity (肥胖). Her group studied some 600 middle-school students. Over three years, students from 12 different schools were asked about their breakfasts. Throughout the study about 34%-44% of all students said that they regularly ate breakfast at home. Up to 17%, or almost one in every six kids, regularly ate breakfast at school. Overall (总的来说), about one in every 10 kids reported eating breakfasts both at home and at school. Eating habits changed somewhat as the kids got older. For example, fifth graders were more likely to regularly eat breakfast at home. But by seventh grade, 22% of the studied kids often skipped breakfast.
Surprisingly, at every age, kids who ate breakfast were less possible to be overweight. This was true even for those who ate breakfast at home and at school. It also found that students who skipped breakfast most often were those most likely to be overweight. These findings may seem puzzling. Yet Schwartz’s team can think of several possible explanations.
Skipping breakfast may set people to be “over-hungry” later in the day, she says. Then someone may eat more food than their body needs. What’s more, not eating regularly in the morning stops our brains and bodies from working properly. It’s very difficult for kids to stay concentrated in class without having breakfast.
But why should eating two breakfasts not lead to weight gain? One explanation may be that school breakfasts are very healthy and controlled in size. Also, most of the double-breakfast eaters are boys. These kids are so active and actively growing up that they need more calories. They often eat twice as much as other people.
12. The example underlined in the second paragraph is meant to tell us ______.
A.having breakfast is of no use at all |
B.skipping breakfast is rather harmful to kids’ health |
C.kids will change their eating habits as they grow older |
D.it is important to have breakfast regularly |
13. According to the passage, which one of the following statements is NOT true?
A.The study was carried out among middle-school students. |
B.The study was going on for over three years. |
C.Skipping breakfast will possibly lead to weight gain. |
D.We can never eat too much in the morning. |
14. Based on the passage, what may happen to a boy who eats breakfast regularly?
A.He may put on weight. | B.His brain and body will work well and properly. |
C.He will be in perfect health. | D.He will be absent-minded in class. |
15. What can we infer (推断) from the last paragraph?
A.Kids who are growing up more actively need more energy. |
B.All the kids should eat more to stay healthy. |
C.Eating two breakfasts will lead to weight gain. |
D.Schools must provide healthy breakfasts. |