The Association between Skipping Breakfast and Biochemical Variables in Sedentary Obese Children and Adolescents

Abstract

To investigate the relationship between skipping meals and biochemical variables in obese children and adolescents. The sample was composed of 174 obese children and adolescents, aged between 6 and 16 years (80 male and 94 female). Body composition was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, fasting blood glucose, and lipid profile were measured after 12 hours fasting. The frequency of skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner was assessed through a face-to-face interview carried out with the parents. The prevalence of eating breakfast daily was low in boys (47.5%) and girls (44.7%). A higher frequency of eating breakfast was negatively correlated with glucose (r = -0.16; P = .026), triglycerides (r = -0.19; P = .011), and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = -0.21; P = .005). In the multivariate model, the weekly frequency of eating breakfast remained negatively associated with glucose (β = -0.975; P = .017), triglycerides (β = -7.792; P = .017), and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (β = -1.870; P = .009) independent of age, sex, trunk fatness, and parents' education. Skipping meals, mainly breakfast, is associated with glucose and lipid levels in obese children and adolescents.