Breakfast is still the meal of champions!
The Journal of the American Dietetic Association’s May issue contained a review article by G. Rampersaud, MS, RD, et. al called “Breakfast Habits, Nutritional Status, Body Weight, and Academic Performance in Children and Adolescents.” This article was very well-documented with 172 references! The authors performed a meta analysis by studying the results of 47 studies that examined the association of breakfast consumption with nutritional adequacy, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents.
So what’s the story on breakfast?
Breakfast consumption by children and adolescents in the USA has declined over time. Between 1965 and 1991, breakfast consumption in preschoolers, children ages 8-10 years, and adolescents declined by 5%, 9%, and 13% respectively, according to the article. Eight to 30% percent of children skipped breakfast entirely, which primarily occurred in the older children aged 15-18 years of age. Fifty-nine percent of high schoolers reported that they skipped breakfast more than three times in the previous week. Forty-two percent of the 12-13 year-old children indicated that they do not eat breakfast every day. Skipping breakfast was also typically more prevalent in girls from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and in older children and adolescents. The study reports that breakfast-skipping has been associated with other lifestyle factors such as smoking, infrequent exercise, dieting, and concerns about weight. Common reasons sited were lack of time, not hungry, or dieting to lose weight.
Children, as we know, require optimal nutrient intake in order to meet the basic demands of growth and development.
What are the kids eating for breakfast?
Breakfast food types were similar across the board. Milk is one of the most commonly consumed foods by children at breakfast in the US, Canada, and even Europe. Breakfast cereals are also popular in the US, Canada, Spain, Croatia and the United Kingdom. Interestingly enough, the United States trends were increased consumption of low-fat milk, ready-to-eat cereals, and juices, with decreases in high-fat milk, whole-grain breads, and eggs.
Our comments related to the above trends: Well, it just goes to show you that even the kids are becoming addicted to carbs carbs carbs! With problems seen with ADD, ADHD, hyperactivity, and behavior, it is no wonder with the foods that the kids are eating. It’s basically the sugar-coated cereals with milk! What we commonly see in “problem kids” is that they are allergic to certain foods – typically dairy and wheat. Hum? What are they eating for breakfast – if they eat it? Dairy and wheat! Go figure! Where’s the protein? What’s wrong with eggs? In today’s fast-paced world, I don’t think anyone is sitting down to a good hot breakfast any more. Kids need protein for growth and development, but it certainly doesn’t look like they are getting it in the average breakfast.
So what?
Children who reported eating breakfast on a consistent basis tended to have better nutritional profiles than those who skipped breakfast. Interestingly enough, the children who consumed breakfast tended to consume more daily calories, yet they were less likely to be overweight! Evidence suggests that breakfast consumption may improve cognitive function related to memory, test grades, and school attendance. Breakfast as part of a healthful diet and lifestyle can positively impact children’s health and well-being according to the study analysis. Parents should be encouraged to provide breakfast for their children or explore the availability of a school breakfast program.
We have seen it time and time again in children as well as adults. Those who consume breakfast tend to be more active, more likely to be at their ideal body weight, and more alert and functional than those who do not consume it. If you are one of those people who have an aversion to eating breakfast, we can help you! We both used to hate eating breakfast – it nearly made us toss our cookies to even think about food at 6:00AM! Once we started following our diets for our diet types as well as getting into an exercise program in the mornings, we found that we felt much better when we eat! You or your children may be consuming the wrong foods for your diet type. This could be contributing to weight gain, sluggishness, bloating, and fatigue. Many of our patients actually require higher protein diets than they were typically eating. The breakfast of cold cereal and milk is definitely NOT a high protein meal!
Children are expending energy just by the growth process. Not eating breakfast is really a big issue. Their bodies need it. Do yourself and your kids a favor and get them something to eat tomorrow morning – their future depends on it!
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