Abstract
Purpose Breakfast consumption has been recommended as part of a healthy diet. Recently, ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC) became more popular as a breakfast item. Our aim was to analyse the dietary characteristics of an RTEC breakfast in European adolescents and to compare them with other breakfast options. MethodsFrom the European multi-centre HELENA study, two 24-h dietary recalls of 3137 adolescents were available. Food items (RTEC or bread, milk/yoghurt, fruit) and macro- and micronutrient intakes at breakfast were calculated. Cross-sectional regression analyses were adjusted for gender, age, socio-economic status and city.ResultsCompared to bread breakfasts (39 %) and all other breakfasts (41.5 %), RTEC breakfast (19.5 %) was associated with improved nutrient intake (less fat and less sucrose; more fibre, protein and some micronutrients like vitamin B, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus) at the breakfast occasion. Exceptions were more simple sugars in RTEC breakfast consumers: more lactose and galactose due to increased milk consumption, but also higher glucose and fructose than bread consumers. RTEC consumers had a significantly higher frequency (92.5 vs. 50.4 and 60.2 %) and quantity of milk/yoghurt intake and a slightly higher frequency of fruit intake (13.4 vs. 10.9 and 8.0 %) at breakfast.ConclusionsAmong European adolescents, RTEC consumers showed a more favourable nutrient intake than consumers of bread or other breakfasts, except for simple sugars. Therefore, RTEC may be regarded as a good breakfast option as part of a varied and balanced diet. Nevertheless, more research is warranted concerning the role of different RTEC types in nutrient intake, especially for simple sugars.
Highlights
Breakfast consumption has been associated with lower intakes of fat and higher intakes of carbohydrates, fibre and certain micronutrients [1, 2] and with lower obesity prevalence [3]
In contrast to most other studies in the literature [6,7,8] who compare ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC) versus non-RTEC breakfast, we focused on “bread breakfasts” as type of non-RTEC breakfast since bread at breakfast is consumed in a substantial proportion of the European adolescent population
We found one study examining only sucrose in US adolescents, and in contrast to our result, they showed higher sucrose intakes in RTEC consumers
Summary
Breakfast consumption ( if the meal includes cereals) has been associated with lower intakes of fat and higher intakes of carbohydrates, fibre and certain micronutrients [1, 2] and with lower obesity prevalence [3]. A comprehensive analysis on the role of ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC) in a pan-European population of adolescents is lacking. Due to the desire for easy and convenient breakfast alternatives, RTEC have become increasingly popular at breakfast. A German longitudinal study in children and adolescents found that RTEC are increasingly consumed, while bread becomes less popular [4]. RTEC can be defined as a cereal food that is processed to the point where it can be eaten without further preparation ( milk is usually added). Because of the food being readily available without further preparation, the long shelf life and the attractive variety in choice, RTEC are regarded as a convenient breakfast that has a role to play, in preventing breakfast skipping and in contributing to a consistent part of the recommended daily nutrients intake
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