More teens are skipping breakfast but it can harm learning - here are some options

FOX 2 - It's one of the reasons the State of Michigan started offering free school breakfast, kids learn better with some nutritious food in their bellies.

The backstory:

If your kids tend to skip breakfast before school, you’re not alone. According to the CDC, it’s especially common among teenagers.

And there are a bunch of reasons, no time, no appetite, worries about weight - but it can actually impact their ability to learn.

"If kids aren't eating in the morning, especially if kids are having tricky sleep the night before, they're going to have a lot of trouble focusing in the classroom," said Dr. Jennifer Hyland. "So, they're going to have trouble focusing, they're going to have trouble staying awake, they're going to have trouble absorbing the information that they're supposed to be learning."

Hyland is a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. She says when it comes to breakfast, kids should be eating foods with healthy fats, carbohydrates, protein and fiber.

If they don’t, they’re more likely to have a blood sugar drop, which can affect their brain, mood, and energy level.

So, what are some good options for breakfast? Hyland suggests hard-boiled eggs, cheese sticks, fruit, Greek yogurt, milk, turkey sausage, protein pancakes, oatmeal or overnight oats.

You could also meal prep some egg sandwiches.

"Some people don’t have an appetite when they first wake up," she said. "And one thing is if you're not used to eating breakfast, you're not going to have an appetite because your body's not used to it and it's not giving the signals. It's not secreting the enzymes that it needs to promote that.

So if kids don't have an appetite, I tell them you don't need to do just this giant breakfast. but that's where we try to just get something in, right? That's that apple and string cheese, right? or that one piece of toast with peanut butter on it, or a high fiber, lower sugar granola bar. even just a glass of milk is better than nothing."

It’s best to avoid anything sugary for breakfast and if you are going to buy your kids cereal, make sure it’s whole grain, low sugar and high in fiber.

In Michigan free school breakfast is offered to all K-12 students, right now we're waiting to see what happens with the new budget to see if that continues.