The school nutrition focus has long been on school lunches, but children's breakfast is gaining some attention lately. The results in participation and performance are encouraging.

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented national school lunch standards in 2012, the aim was to reduce childhood obesity. The move targeted saturated fats, trans fats and sodium, and mandated that fruits and vegetables be available to students every day at school.

The USDA was concerned with the health of the nation's schoolchildren, and also the link between nutrition and improved academic performance. First lady Michelle Obama, who has widely and actively promoted the standards, noted the relationship during a 2012 visit to an Alexandria, Virginia, elementary school with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

"Kids can't be expected to sit still and concentrate when they're on a sugar high or when they're hungry," she said, according to a report in Education Week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also has cited the tie between nutrition — along with physical activity and academics.

As schools implemented the standards, they paid attention to the consumers in addition to the content. In Austin, Texas, for example, students can have carne guisada, pho or falafel. Overall, more healthy food options are being offered in school cafeterias, researchers reported in a study in Preventing Chronic Disease. Their findings show fresh fruit, salad bars and other nutritious offerings are more widely available, and the number of schools providing fried potatoes, high-fat milks and other less healthful foods dropped.

What about breakfast?

In 2015, more than 14 million students participated in the USDA's School Breakfast Program, which provides funding to each state for the morning meals.

Researchers from New York University tackled the subject in a recent study to determine the effect of breakfast on student performance and obesity. They focused on New York City schools and their program that offers breakfast in the classroom instead of the cafeteria.

The study did not establish a link between the in-classroom breakfast and improved academic performance, but it indicated the program did not impede performance either.

As for obesity and concerns that some children would eat two breakfasts (one at home, one at school) the study showed that had no negative effect.

Other schools have found in-classroom breakfast pays benefits. In Lee County, Virginia, breakfast participation numbers climbed 24 percent when administrators allowed portable breakfast. They had found students were bypassing the morning meal over anxiety about getting to class on time, according to a report in The Washington Post.

In addition to a boost in participation numbers, school officials noticed the hectic environment surrounding the start of the school has calmed.

School breakfast can provide another benefit: more sleep for students, which leads to better performance. In a study undertaken by researchers from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University in Montreal, students that were granted an average of 18 more minutes of sleep each night improved their performance in math and English classwork. On the other hand, Dutch students who suffered from a chronic lack of sleep were shown to have poorer performance, including lower grades and difficulty concentrating, according to a study by Leiden University.

The availability and ease of school breakfast could have a residual effect. The CDC recently stated that sleep-deprived teens are more likely to take on risky behaviors.

A good meal to start the day can bring good results throughout the day.