Towards an Evidence-Based Recommendation for a Balanced Breakfast-A Proposal from the International Breakfast Research Initiative.

Michael Gibney,Jessica Smith,Florent Vieux,Gabriel Masset,Luis Moreno,Barbara Livingstone,Sinead Hopkins,Gregorio Varela-Moreiras,Frank Thielecke,Adam Drewnowski,France Bellisle,Susan Barr,Sisse Fagt

doi:10.3390/nu10101540

Abstract

The International Breakfast Research Initiative (IBRI) set out to derive nutritional recommendations for a balanced breakfast using a standardized analysis of national nutrition surveys from Canada, Denmark, France, Spain, UK and the US. In all countries, the frequency of breakfast consumption by age was high and U-shaped with children and older adults having a higher frequency of breakfast consumption. Breakfast contributed 16% to 21% of daily energy intake. In all countries, breakfast was a carbohydrate- and nutrient-rich meal, providing more carbohydrates (including sugars), thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and less vitamin A, fats and sodium relative to its contribution to daily energy intakes. Breakfast consumers were stratified by tertiles of the Nutrient Rich Foods (NRF) index, used as a measure of diet quality. Breakfast intakes associated with the top tertile of NRF, along with the Codex Alimentarius international food standards and World Health Organization (WHO) diet guidelines, were used to derive the proposed nutrient recommendations. The goal was to preserve the nutrient density of existing breakfasts, while addressing concerns regarding added sugars, saturated fats, dietary fiber, and vitamin D. This initiative is unique in seeking to derive nutrient recommendations for a specific meal using the observed nutritional profile of such meal.

Highlights

Breakfast is widely considered to be a key component of a healthy diet
The International Breakfast Research Initiative (IBRI) project aimed to derive nutritional recommendations for the breakfast eating occasion based on observed nutritional profiles of breakfasts in six countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Spain, UK and US), taking into account current international dietary guidelines
The International Breakfast Research Initiative set out to develop a methodology for the establishment of quantitative nutrient recommendations for breakfast and to do so in the context of six countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Spain, UK, and the US)

Summary

Introduction

Breakfast is widely considered to be a key component of a healthy diet. Regular breakfast consumption has been associated with improved weight control, better cognitive function and cardio-metabolic health [1,2,3,4,5]. Recommendations aimed at improving breakfast quality tend to be mainly food based with only a limited number being nutrient based. Food-based recommendations issued by some governments and national dietetic associations list foods that are viewed as integral components of a healthy breakfast which are generally in line with and derived from food-based recommendations for the overall daily diet [6,7,8]. Nutrient-based recommendations typically set breakfast nutrient standards at 20–25% of daily intake recommendations [7,9,10,11,12], given that breakfast generally tends to contribute. As an example, seeking to update the US National School Breakfast

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion