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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
Cumulative social disadvantage and breakfast skipping in adolescence: a cross-national study of 38 countries
Geiziane L R Melo1, Raphael H O Araujo2, Rafaela Espírito Santo2
1Health Research and Innovation Science Centre, Klaipeda University, Klaipeda, Lithuania..
Background:
Breakfast skipping is socially patterned behavior prevalent among adolescents worldwide.
Objective:
This study examined cross-national patterns of nondaily breakfast consumption (non-DBC) and its cumulative social determinants.
Methods:
Data came from 148,722 adolescents (51.8% girls; mean age = 13.5 ± 1.64 years) from 2017/2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study across 38 countries. Random-effects meta-analysis estimated pooled prevalence, and generalized linear mixed models assessed associations with a Social Jeopardy Index capturing cumulative social disadvantage (i.e., gender; socioeconomic status; family structure; parental employment; and immigrant status).
Results:
Overall, 30.6% (95% CI: 27.8-33.5), highest in Austria (46.0% 95% CI: 44.3-47.7) and lowest in the Netherlands (11.4% 95% CI: 10.5-12.4) of adolescents reported non-DBC, with substantial cross-national variation. Each additional point on the Social Jeopardy Index was associated with a 19% increase in non-DBC likelihood (OR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.18-1.20), with a significant dose-response gradient across all Social Jeopardy Index levels (Cochran-Armitage Z = -43.6, P < 0.001). Adolescents experiencing higher cumulative social disadvantage show a higher likelihood of skipping breakfast across geographic regions.
Conclusions:
Breakfast skipping reflects cumulative social disadvantage rather than individual choice, underscoring the need for equity-oriented public health and school-based intervention strategies.
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