Breakfast and the diets of Australian children and adolescents: an analysis of data from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the nutrients provided to Australian children and adolescents by the breakfast meal and compare the food and nutrient intakes and health of regular breakfast eaters (those who ate breakfast five or more days a week) and skippers (who are breakfast rarely or never). The Australian Bureau of Statistics was commissioned to undertake additional analysis of data collected in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey. The survey included 24-hour recalls, physical measurements and a food habits questionnaire collected during the period February 1995 to March 1996, with a nationally representative sample of 3007 Australians aged between 2 and 18 years. The median nutrient intakes at breakfast and the proportion of the daily total contributed by breakfast were calculated. Differences between regular breakfast eaters and breakfast skippers in terms of nutrient intake, BMI and health status were compared using student t-tests. The findings show the typical breakfast consumed by young Australians was low in fat, high in carbohydrate and a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, calcium and magnesium. Those who didn't eat breakfast cereal were much more likely to have inadequate nutrient intakes, especially of thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium and iron. There was no difference between the fat intake or the BMI of regular breakfast eaters compared to breakfast skippers. Regular breakfast consumption is associated with better diets for children and adolescents.

The contribution of breakfast cereals to the nutritional intake of the materially deprived UK population

“…Breakfast consumption, in particular breakfast cereal consumption, has been linked to higher micronutrient intakes and positive health outcomes (Nicklas et al, 2004;Song et al, 2006;Van den Boom et al, 2006;Wilson et al, 2006;Williams, 2007;Albertson et al, 2008). There is evidence to suggest that lower-income or disadvantaged populations may be less likely to consume breakfast (Keski-Rahkonen et al, 2003), particularly children and adolescents (O'Dea and Caputi, 2001;Moore et al, 2007;Timlin et al, 2008;Merten et al, 2009;Deshmukh-Taskar et al, 2010).…”

“…However, breakfast cereals are usually consumed with milk, which is a significant source of calcium and riboflavin, and this is likely to be an important determinant of the higher calcium and riboflavin intake reported among consumers. Consumption of breakfast cereals is associated with higher intakes of several micronutrients in preschool children (Ruxton and Kirk, 1997), school children and adolescents (Crawley, 1993;Nicklas et al, 1993Nicklas et al, , 1995Gibson and O'Sullivan, 1995;Ruxton et al, 1996;Van den Boom et al, 2006;Williams, 2007;Deshmukh-Taskar et al, 2010), and adults (McNulty et al, 1994). Breakfast consumption is also associated with higher intakes of fibre (Ruxton and Kirk, 1997;Barton et al, 2005;Rampersaud et al, 2005;Van den Boom et al, 2006).…”

Associations of breakfast skipping with obesity and health-related quality of life: evidence from a national survey in Taiwan

“…Eating patterns that may influence body weight include eating frequency, [11][12][13] breakfast skipping [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and the frequency of meals eaten away from home. 12 Among these, breakfast skipping has received a lot of attention recently.…”

School-based intervention to promote eating daily and healthy breakfast: A survey and a case–control study

“…In both adolescents (Summerbell et al, 1996) and adults (Song et al, 2005;Kant et al, 2008), eating breakfast is related to better nutrition (Nicklas et al, 1998;Williams, 2007), lower body mass index (BMI), improved overall quality of life (Chen et al, 2005). In an analysis from a sample of 3652 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, there was an association between eating ready-to-eat cereals, cooked cereal or quick breads for breakfast and lower BMI compared with those who skipped breakfast and those who ate meat and eggs.…”