Skipping breakfast and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in school children: a preliminary analysis

The objective of the study is to examine whether the increased levels of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-c) are associated with skipping breakfast among school children.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 539 school children aged 8-12 years from the Niagara Region of Canada.

Non-fasting finger blood was taken for total cholesterol (total-c) and HDL-c measurements. Non-HDL-c was calculated as the difference between total-c and HDL-c. The information of skipping breakfast in a week was obtained from a questionnaire, which was categorized into three groups, i.e., none, 1-3 times and 4 + times. Demographic information and other related variables were described by the three breakfast-skipping groups.

Approximately 44% of children (n = 182) reported skipping breakfast. There were significant differences between the three groups in the means of total-c, non-HDL-c, body mass index, waist circumference, proportions of overall health excellent, eating dinner with parent and skipping breakfast that affects learning (P < 0.05). The number of days of skipping breakfast was weakly correlated to the level of non-HDL-c (r = 0.145, P < 0.0001). Multiple regression results indicated that every one more time of skipping breakfast would increase approximately 0.05 mmol/L level of non-HDL-c (P < 0.01), on average, after adjusting for those aforementioned potential confounding variables. The adjusted mean levels of non-HDL-c were 2.77, 2.94 and 3.07 mmol/L for none, skipping 1-3 times and skipping 4 + times of breakfast, respectively; the mean differences between none and the other two groups were statistical significant (P < 0.05).

Non-HDL-c levels is positively associated with the number of skipping breakfast among school children, and further research is needed to confirm this relationship.