Kincardine student competing in the National Science Fair

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An ongoing battle with his parents over breakfast prompted one local student to investigate what all the fuss was about.

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“My parents always ask me to eat breakfast, especially before going to school, but I don't really like it, so I wanted to know why they say that,” she explained. Oscar Weerasinghe, 14.

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An eighth-grader at St. Anthony's School in Kincardine, Weerasinghe is one of six students recently named to the Bluewater team. The group is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Canada Science Fair at Carleton University in Ottawa from May 26-31.

Weerasinghe Project, Breakfast on the Brain was one of 112 projects submitted by Gray Bruce V. students Grades 7 through 12 through tea Annual regional competition held in Owen Sound on April 3.

In order to determine why eating breakfast regularly is important for brain function, Weerasinghe spent 16 days testing the effects Three breakfasts, including a protein-based version and a carbohydrate-based version, and then compared the effects of each to those of no breakfast at all.

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Using himself, his parents, and his brother as test subjects, he ate each breakfast for four days and tested for effects using a picture memory test, a speed reaction test, a face memory test, and a stopped reaction test.

“This has proven that, in most cases, eating breakfast has a positive effect on our test results,” he added, noting that scores were lower after not eating breakfast at all. He said he did not find a significant difference in the effect between the types of foods eaten.

If given the opportunity to further explore it, Weerasinghe said He wants to look at the nutrients behind each food item and investigate more breakfast options, as well as use a longer testing period.

Weerasinghe When he submitted his project, he had no idea there was a Canadian-level competition, he said, so being chosen to move to a higher level was an exciting surprise, as he had the opportunity to visit Ottawa for the first time.

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“I'm really lucky that I was able to go there for a week,” he said.

despite of Weerasinghe He travels to the national competition with the rest of his teammates he told him The parents plan to join him in time for the awards ceremony.

The other five members of the Bluewater team are Emily Caulfield, from St. Mary's High School in Owen Sound, for her project, Diving into the Social Behaviors of Fish; Charlotte Woodhouse, also from St Mary's University, for her project 'How levels of inbreeding affect fertility in Holsteins'; Shaile Oats, of St. Mary's, for her fertilizer growth project; Lucas Muir, from Hepworth Central School, for his project Hydro Harvest and Theodora Roberts, from Blue Mountain Wild School in Kimberley, for her project Gro(w): Effects of Ozonated Water on Plant Growth.

While Weerasinghe celebrates his success at the science fair, the teenager He's not the only winner in the family. Since his results proved his parents were correct, they had officially won the battle over breakfast.

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