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Benefits of Breakfast for Children and Adolescents: Update and Recommendations for Practitioners

Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, gcr{at}ufl.edu

A number of studies report health benefits for children and adolescents who consume breakfast. Breakfast skipping is fairly common in children and adolescents and increases as children age. Breakfast can enhance children's diets by positively contributing to daily nutrient intake, augmenting intake of key nutrients such as fiber and calcium, and provides an opportunity to help meet the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Breakfast also is associated with more healthful food choices. Cross-sectional studies support that eating breakfast more often may help children and adolescents maintain a healthful weight. However, the results from longitudinal studies are inconclusive and suggest that more research is needed to clarify this relationship, including understanding the mediating effects of initial weight status, dieting behavior, and physical activity levels. Breakfast consumption may provide some benefit toward cognitive function and academic achievement, but more research is needed. Breakfast is one facet of a healthy lifestyle that may help contribute to the short- and long-term health and well-being of children and adolescents. Health practitioners can promote healthy breakfast consumption in children and adolescents by addressing barriers to eating breakfast and focusing on individuals who may be more likely to skip breakfast on a regular basis.

Key Words: breakfast • children • adolescents • nutrition • body weight • cognition

This version was published on March 1, 2009

American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, Vol. 3, No. 2, 86-103 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1559827608327219


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