Abstract
Recent data on breakfast consumption among Australian children are limited. This study examined the impact of breakfast skipping and breakfast type (cereal or non-cereal) on nutrient intakes, likelihood of meeting nutrient targets and anthropometric measures. A secondary analysis of two 24-h recall data from the 2007 Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey was conducted (2–16 years; n = 4487) to identify (a) breakfast skippers and (b) breakfast consumers, with breakfast consumers further sub-divided into (i) non-cereal and (ii) cereal consumers. Only 4% skipped breakfast and 59% of skippers were 14–16 years. Breakfast consumers had significantly higher intakes of calcium and folate, and significantly lower intakes of total fat than breakfast skippers. Cereal consumers were more likely to meet targets and consume significantly higher fibre, calcium, iron, had significantly higher intakes of folate, total sugars and carbohydrate, and significantly lower intakes of total fat and sodium than non-cereal consumers. The prevalence of overweight was lower among breakfast consumers compared to skippers, and among cereal consumers compared to-cereal consumers (p < 0.001), while no significant differences were observed for mean body mass index (BMI), BMI z-score, waist circumference and physical activity level across the categories. Breakfast and particularly breakfast cereal consumption contributes important nutrients to children’s diets.
Highlights
Breakfast is often referred to as one of the most important meals of the day, helping kick start metabolism and re-fuelling the body with energy and essential nutrients [1,2,3,4]
Breakfast skipping increased with age, and the highest proportion of breakfast skipping occurred among children aged 14–16 years (59.1%)
There was no difference in total energy, body mass index (BMI) z-score, waist circumference or physical activity level across breakfast categories, and both breakfast and cereal consumers had a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity than skippers and non-cereal breakfast consumers, respectively
Summary
Breakfast is often referred to as one of the most important meals of the day, helping kick start metabolism and re-fuelling the body with energy and essential nutrients [1,2,3,4]. Studies of adolescent children in the both US and Australia have shown that breakfast consumption is associated with lower body mass index (BMI) [5,6], and in Canada it has been estimated that not eating breakfast every day nearly doubled the odds of being overweight at 4.5 years of age [6,7]. In Australia, childhood breakfast skipping was associated with both higher waist circumference and negative effects on cardio-metabolic health markers in adulthood [9].
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