Breakfast habits among European adolescents and their association with sociodemographic factors: the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study

Abstract

Objective: To describe breakfast habits at food group level in European adolescents and to investigate the associations between these habits and sociodemographic factors. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Secondary schools from nine European cities participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) Study. Breakfast habits were assessed twice using a computer-based 24 h dietary recall. Adolescents who consumed breakfast on at least one recall day were classified as 'breakfast consumers' and adolescents who did not have anything for breakfast on either of the two recall days were considered 'breakfast skippers'. A 'breakfast quality index' to describe breakfast quality was created based on the consumption or nonconsumption of cereals/cereal products, dairy products and fruits/vegetables. The sociodemographic factors studied were sex, age, region of Europe, maternal and paternal education, family structure and family affluence. Subjects: Adolescents (n 2672, 53 % girls) aged 12-17 years. Results: The majority of the adolescents reported a breakfast that scored poorly on the breakfast quality index. Older adolescents, adolescents from the southern part of Europe and adolescents from families with low socio-economic status were more likely to consume a low-quality breakfast. Conclusions: The study highlights the need to promote the consumption of a highquality breakfast among adolescents, particularly in older adolescents, adolescents from southern Europe and adolescents from families with low socio-economic status, in order to improve public health. Keywords Food groups Dietary habits Socio-economic TeenagerBreakfast consumption is an important part of a healthy lifestyle (1) . Regular breakfast consumption among adolescents has been associated with better diet quality (2-4) , better cognitive performance (5) and reduced risk of becoming overweight or obese (6) . Nevertheless, breakfast skipping is a common behaviour among European adolescents, with a prevalence ranging from 3 % (7) to 34 % (1) .

The effects of breakfast on behavior and academic performance in children and adolescents

“…It is likely that children and adolescents who eat breakfast differ from those who do not eat breakfast in ways that also influence educational outcomes. There is a consistent evidence that SES is associated with breakfast eating, with children from higher SES backgrounds more likely to regularly eat breakfast than children from lower SES backgrounds, an effect which is consistent across gender and age (Delva et al, 2006; Moore et al, 2007; Doku et al, 2011; Hallström et al, 2011, 2012; Overby et al, 2011). Similarly, there is well established consistent evidence that SES is a central determinant of academic performance and cognitive ability (Brooks-Gunn and Duncan, 1997; McLoyd, 1998; McCulloch and Joshi, 2001; Machin and Vignoles, 2004).…”

Association of lifestyle habits and academic achievement in Norwegian adolescents: a cross-sectional study

“…Because adolescents from families with a low socio-economic status (SES) are more likely to consume a low-quality diet, SES may act as an achievement buffer, thereby partially explaining the relationship between meal pattern, diet and academic achievement [7, 11, 34]. Hence, it is important to account for these variables in cognitive or academic achievement studies, as we have done by adjustment for parental education in the present study.…”

Maternal educational level and children’s healthy eating behaviour: role of the home food environment (cross-sectional results from the INPACT study)

“…Of these three SES indicators, educational level was found to be the strongest and most consistent in predicting health behaviour [25]. In this study, maternal educational level was used as an indicator of children’s SES because several studies found maternal educational level to be a reliable determinant of children’s dietary behaviour and childhood obesity [9,19,20]. In addition, traditionally, in the majority of the households the mother provides the food for the family and, therefore, maternal educational level also impacts the dietary behaviour of the other members of the family and the home availability of foods.…”

“…A literature review found that parental educational level and parental unemployment were unrelated to adolescents and children’s breakfast consumption [18]. However, other studies found a positive association between maternal educational level and children’s breakfast consumption [9,19,20]. Given the inconsistencies in the findings from previous studies and the relative small part of the literature assessing socio-economic disparities in dietary behaviour of children, the first aim of this study is to investigate socio-economic differences in healthy eating behaviours of children (fruit, vegetable and breakfast consumption).…”