The Association between Skipping Breakfast and Biochemical Variables in Sedentary Obese Children and Adolescents

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.04.055

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 161, Issue 5, November 2012, Pages 871-874

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.04.055 Get rights and content

Objective

To investigate the relationship between skipping meals and biochemical variables in obese children and adolescents.

Study design

The sample was composed of 174 obese children and adolescents, aged between 6 and 16 years (80 male and 94 female). Body composition was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, fasting blood glucose, and lipid profile were measured after 12 hours fasting. The frequency of skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner was assessed through a face-to-face interview carried out with the parents.

Results

The prevalence of eating breakfast daily was low in boys (47.5%) and girls (44.7%). A higher frequency of eating breakfast was negatively correlated with glucose (r = −0.16; P = .026), triglycerides (r = −0.19; P = .011), and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = −0.21; P = .005). In the multivariate model, the weekly frequency of eating breakfast remained negatively associated with glucose (β = −0.975; P = .017), triglycerides (β = −7.792; P = .017), and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (β = −1.870; P = .009) independent of age, sex, trunk fatness, and parents' education.

Conclusion

Skipping meals, mainly breakfast, is associated with glucose and lipid levels in obese children and adolescents.

Section snippets

Methods

The subjects were invited, through television and newspaper advertising, to participate in an intervention program, which promoted the practice of physical exercise and improved nutrition for obese boys and girls. In the present study, only the initial data were used. After initial contact by phone, measurements were performed at the university laboratory. Subjects were invited to participate in the study if their initial body mass index measurement met the cut-off criteria for obesity proposed

Results

There were no significant differences between male and female participants with respect to age, weight, height, biochemical, and TFM variables (P values ranging from .217-.471). However, boys had higher median values of glucose than girls (P = .041). Eating breakfast daily was identified in less than 50% of the boys and girls. Lunch was the most common meal in the analyzed sample, followed by dinner. Daily meal consumption was similar in both sexes (Table I).

Eating breakfast was significantly

Discussion

In the present study, skipping breakfast had a high frequency, with only 46% of daily breakfast consumption in the overall sample. Dupuy et al² analyzed a large sample of French adolescents (11-15 years old), and identified that a higher frequency of daily breakfast consumption (63.3% of boys and 56.6% of girls), inversely decreased the odds of obesity (OR = 0.73 [0.60-0.88]). Protective associations were also found by Duncan et al³ in Brazilian adolescents (OR = 0.59 [0.46-0.75]). These

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Original ArticleThe Association between Skipping Breakfast and Biochemical Variables in Sedentary Obese Children and Adolescents

Objective

Study design

Results

Conclusion

Section snippets

Methods

Results

Discussion

Trends Endocrinol Metab

Am J Clin Nutr

Appetite

Early physical activity promotes lower prevalence of chronic diseases in adulthood

Hypertens Res

Original Article
The Association between Skipping Breakfast and Biochemical Variables in Sedentary Obese Children and Adolescents