Breakfast and the diets of Australian adults: An analysis of data from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the nutrients provided to Australian adults by the breakfast meal and compare the food and nutrient intakes and health of regular breakfast eaters and skippers. The Australian Bureau of Statistics was commissioned to undertake additional analysis of data collected in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey (NNS). 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 10851 Australians aged nineteen years and older. 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 typical Australian breakfast was low in fat, high in carbohydrate and a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, calcium and magnesium. In the NNS regular breakfast eaters had more adequate diets overall, particularly those aged 65+ years. People who didn't eat breakfast cereal were much more likely to have inadequate nutrient intakes, especially of thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium and iron. Regular breakfast eaters were more likely to rate their health as excellent or good than those who skip breakfast, but 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 adults overall. SummaryThe aim of this study was to describe the nutrients provided to Australian adults by the breakfast meal and compare the food and nutrient intakes and health of regular breakfast eaters and skippers. The Australian Bureau of Statistics was commissioned to undertake additional analysis of data collected in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey (NNS). 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 10851 Australians aged nineteen years and older. 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 typical Australian breakfast was low in fat, high in carbohydrate and a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, calcium and magnesium. In the NNS regular breakfast eaters had more adequate diets overall, particularly those aged 65+ years. People who didn't eat breakfast cereal were much more likely to have inadequate nutrient intakes, especially of thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium and iron. Regular breakfast eaters were more likely to rate their health as excellent or good than those who skip breakfast, but there was no d...

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

“…In this analysis, there was no significant difference in the total daily fat intake or the 21 percentage of energy from fat between regular breakfast eaters or skippers. This may be due to 22 the generally lower percentage of fat in the Australian diet compared to US and UK intakes, 23 and reflects a similar finding in the analysis of Australian adult breakfasts (Williams 2005). 24…”

“…Very few Australian children below 8 years 6 miss breakfast regularly (Williams 2002). Those who regularly ate breakfast had better nutrient 7 intakes overall -higher in dietary fibre and richer in almost all vitamins and minerals, 8 especially thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, iron and magnesium, although the differences 9…”

“…Kellogg (Aust) commissioned the ABS to analyse the data 23 from the NNS in relation to breakfast food and dietary patterns. Results about the foods 24 consumed at breakfast and the prevalence of breakfast eating or skipping have been published 25 (Williams 2002) and the contribution of the breakfast meal to the diets of adults has also been 26 described (Williams 2005). This paper reports the detailed findings from this analysis of the 27 contribution of the breakfast meal to the nutrition of Australians children and adolescents 28 (aged 2-18 years) as well as some data on the relationship between breakfast consumption and 29…”

“…The notable fall in calcium intake in the older 22 adolescent girls (16-18y) reflects their lower intake of milk (Williams 2002). 23 24 Breakfast cereals, as consumed with milk and sugar, contributed significantly to the nutrient 25 density of the breakfast meal.…”

“…In addition, a series of questions was asked, 15 including self-reported health status on a five-point scale and "How many days per week do 16 you usually have something to eat at breakfast?" Throughout this paper, those who indicated 17 they ate breakfast five or more days a week are classified as regular breakfast "eaters"; those 18 who responded "rarely or never" are classified as breakfast "skippers", which is the same 19 definition used in other studies (Williams 2002;Williams 2005). In the 24-hour recalls, 20 participants were asked to nominate the meal at which each food item was consumed, from a 21 list of seven options which included breakfast.…”