Association between Skipping Breakfast and Overweight in Korean Adolescents: Analysis of the 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey

Abstract

In Korea, skipping breakfast is of concern as an unhealthy dietary habit. While the relationship between skipping breakfast and overweight and obesity has been established in children and adolescents in Europe, studies on this topic in Korean adolescents are scarce. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and skipping breakfast in Korean adolescents. Data from the 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2017) were analyzed. This anonymous, self-administered online questionnaire examined health behaviors including smoking, drinking, obesity, eating habits, sleep duration, and physical activity in Korean youth. Questions included those on general characteristics, such as economic status, parental education level, etc. This study included data from 56,933 adolescents aged 12–18 years. Skipping breakfast was defined as consuming breakfast fewer than five times per week. BMI, health behaviors, and general characteristics were compared between the breakfast-skipping and control groups. The skipping-breakfast and control groups comprised 25,836 (45.4%) and 31,097 (54.6%) subjects, respectively. BMI was significantly higher in the breakfast-skipping group than that in the control group (21.6 ± 3.24 kg/m2 vs. 21.4 ± 3.26 kg/m2, p < 0.001). Among the normal-weight and overweight groups, 44.9% and 47.3% skipped breakfast, respectively (p < 0.001). After adjusting for health behaviors and general characteristics, the risk of overweight was higher in those who skipped breakfast than that in the control group (odds ratio; 1.125, 95% confidence interval; 1.077–1.176). Skipping breakfast was related to overweight in Korean adolescents. Therefore, longitudinal research is needed to determine whether skipping breakfast is associated with overweight. Keywords: Adolescent, Body mass index, Overweight, Skipping breakfast