Prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents: a cross-sectional population level study

Abstract

Background Interventions to promote breakfast consumption are a popular strategy to address early life inequalities. It is important to understand the epidemiology of children and adolescents who skip breakfast so that interventions and policy can be appropriately considered. This study investigated the prevalence of breakfast skipping among a contemporary, population-wide sample of children and adolescents in Australia. Methods Participants were grade 4–12 students (n = 71,390, 8–18 years) in South Australian government (public) schools who took part in the 2019 Wellbeing and Engagement Collection. The prevalence of breakfast skipping (never, sometimes, often, or always) was calculated for the overall sample and stratified by gender, school grade, socioeconomic status and geographical remoteness. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the relative risk ratio of sometimes, often, and always skippers compared with never skippers, according to demographic characteristics. Results Overall, 55.0% of students reported never skipping breakfast, 17.4% reported sometimes skipping, 18.0% reported often skipping, and 9.5% reported always skipping breakfast. Skipping breakfast was more prevalent among females, students in senior grades, and those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged and regional and remote areas. Analyses disaggregated by gender revealed that grade level gradients in breakfast skipping were more marked among females compared to males. Conclusions Breakfast skipping among children and adolescents appears considerably more prevalent than previous research suggests. Drivers of breakfast skipping across population sub-groups need to be explored to better inform strategies to promote breakfast consumption.

Prevalence of Obesity and the Factors Associated with Low Obesity Awareness among Urban Adolescents in Harare, Zimbabwe

“…However, the same individuals often skipped meals (93%) and did not eat fruits and vegetables (57.4%). These unhealthy eating behaviors are associated with overweight and obesity [ 53 , 54 ]. Furthermore, the dietary habits of adolescents in Zimbabwe requires further investigation within the context of socio-cultural beliefs and the changing food environments [ 55 ].…”

“…Binary logistic regression revealed that there were no significant associations between low obesity awareness and nutrition knowledge, physical activity levels, BtC, and BMI. These results were unexpected because of the well-known link between obesity and poor nutrition knowledge and PA [ 54 , 55 ]. Further research is warranted to shed more light on this area.…”

No food for thought–How important is breakfast to the health, educational attainment and wellbeing of school‐aged children and young people?

“…A systematic review of a large number of children and adolescents (n = 285 626; aged 2-18 years) across 33 countries suggested around 10%-30% are skipping breakfast, with a higher frequency among adolescents compared to younger children (Monzani et al, 2019). Other research also found skipping breakfast to be more frequent in females and low socio-economic groups compared to males and higher income groups (Coulthard et al, 2017;de la Hunty et al, 2013;Hoyland et al, 2012;Inchley et al, 2020;Sincovich et al, 2022). It has been postulated that the age differential in breakfast skipping may partly reflect the shift in circadian rhythms in adolescence to a later wake/sleep cycle as well as having more agency over their food choices (Coulthard et al, 2017).…”

“…It has been postulated that the age differential in breakfast skipping may partly reflect the shift in circadian rhythms in adolescence to a later wake/sleep cycle as well as having more agency over their food choices (Coulthard et al., 2017). Other cited reasons for missing breakfast include a lack of time, no enjoyment of breakfast or not feeling hungry in the morning, and weight control, especially in adolescent girls (de la Hunty et al., 2013; Sincovich et al., 2022). In the Spanish DESKcohort study including 7319 adolescents, breakfast skipping was suggested to be around 30% higher in adolescents in the most deprived compared to the least deprived groups (Esquius et al., 2021), and the authors suggested that this may be related in part to lack of access to, or availability of, food.…”

Nutritional Composition of Breakfast in Children and Adolescents with and without Celiac Disease in Spain—Role of Gluten-Free Commercial Products

“…Skipping breakfast is more frequent among women, later adolescents, those living in single-parent households, and in lower socioeconomic positions [ 6 ]. Breakfast skipping has also been found to be positively correlated with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) and biomarkers of metabolic diseases [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”