Associations between breakfast frequency and adiposity indicators in children from 12 countries

Area of Science:

• Global child health
• Pediatric obesity research
• Nutritional epidemiology

Background:

• Inverse associations between breakfast frequency and obesity indices are often reported in high-income countries.
• Limited socioeconomic and geographic diversity in previous studies restricts generalizability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between breakfast frequency and adiposity in a diverse multinational sample of children.
• To investigate potential variations in this association across different countries.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multilevel statistical models with data from 6941 children aged 9-11 years in the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE).
• Assessed breakfast frequency against body mass index (BMI) z-score and body fat percentage (BF%), adjusting for covariates like physical activity, diet, and sleep.
• Explored interactions between breakfast consumption and study site.

Main Results:

• Frequent breakfast consumption was significantly associated with lower BMI z-scores and BF% compared to occasional or rare consumption.
• Significant variations in the association between breakfast frequency and BMI z-score were observed across the 12 participating countries.
• In some countries, occasional breakfast consumption was linked to higher BMI z-scores than frequent consumption.

Conclusions:

• More frequent breakfast consumption is associated with lower adiposity in a diverse global pediatric population.
• The observed associations between breakfast habits and child adiposity are not uniform worldwide.
• Further research is needed to elucidate the reasons behind global disparities in these associations.