Breakfast skipping is associated with differences in meal patterns, macronutrient intakes and overweight among pre-school children

Mar 19, 2008Public health nutrition

Skipping breakfast is linked to different eating habits, nutrient intake, and overweight in preschool children

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Abstract

Ten percent of pre-school children skipped breakfast, which is associated with poorer diet quality.

Skipping breakfast is linked to higher protein intakes during lunch and increased consumption of high-energy snacks in the afternoon and evening.
Total daily energy intakes were similar between breakfast skippers and those who ate breakfast daily.
In breakfast skippers, a higher intake of energy, carbohydrates, or grain products is associated with an increase in mean BMI.
For breakfast skippers, being classified as overweight or obese is related to consuming around 3,000 kJ (700 kcal) or more at dinner.
Breakfast eaters did not show the same association between diet composition and BMI as breakfast skippers.

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OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between skipping breakfast, daily energy, macronutrients and food intakes, and BMI in pre-school children.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional study using information on children's food consumption and measured height and weight. Energy and macronutrient intakes of the children were derived from parent/day-care attendant's responses to 24 h recall interviews and eating behaviour questionnaires.

SETTING: Data obtained from a representative sample (n 2,103) of children born in Quebec (Canada) in 1998.

SUBJECTS: One thousand five hundred and forty-nine children, with a mean age of 49 (sd 3.12) months.

RESULTS: Ten per cent of children ate breakfast on fewer than 7 days per week. This behaviour was associated with a lower diet quality and concentrated energy intakes through higher protein intakes at lunch and the consumption of snacks higher in energy and carbohydrate in the afternoon and evening; yet total daily energy intakes were not significantly different from those of pre-school children who ate breakfast every day. Breakfast skippers' mean BMI increased as intake of energy, carbohydrates or servings of grain products increased; however, this was not the case for breakfast eaters. When Cole's cut-off for overweight/obesity was used, overweight/obesity in breakfast skippers was related to the dinner-time consumption of approximately 3,000 kJ (700 kcal) or more for energy intake, approximately 100 g or more of carbohydrates, or approximately 3 servings or more of grain products.

CONCLUSIONS: Eating breakfast every day is associated with having a healthy body weight, likely due to a more even distribution of energy intake across meals throughout the day.

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Breakfast skipping is associated with differences in meal patterns, macronutrient intakes and overweight among pre-school children

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