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Updated: May 19, 2026
Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
Proposal for a Breakfast Quality Index (BQI) for children and adolescents
Celia Monteagudo1, Alba Palacín-Arce, Maria del Mar Bibiloni
1Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Granada, Campus de Cartuja s/n, E-18071 Granada, Spain.
Objective:
To propose and apply an instrument to assess the breakfast quality of children and adolescents in the Mediterranean area.
Design:
Randomized, cross-sectional survey of breakfast consumption using a validated semi-quantitative FFQ administered at school by trained dietitians between Tuesday and Friday. A Breakfast Quality Index (BQI) score was developed, assigning a positive value to the consumption of cereals, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, MUFA, Ca and compliance with energy recommendations, and to the absence of SFA and trans-rich fats. Data were analysed by Student's t test and ANOVA.
Setting:
Schools in Granada and Balearic Islands (Spain).
Subjects:
All schoolchildren (n 4332) aged 8-17 years at randomly selected and representative schools between 2006 and 2008, stratified by age and sex.
Results:
Breakfast was not consumed by 6·5 % of participants. BQI score was highest for children aged 7-9 years and decreased with age (P = 0·001). Females scored higher in all age groups. The lowest score was in males aged 14-17 years and the highest in females aged 7-9 years (P = 0·006).
Conclusions:
The proposed BQI appears useful to estimate the breakfast quality of schoolchildren and to form a basis for nutrition education.
