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Breakfast and Health Benefit

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 27047

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Prof. Dr. Alicia Aguilar Martínez

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Guest Editor

1. Food Lab Research Group (2017SGR 83), Faculty of Health Sciences, Open University of Catalonia (UOC), 08018 Barcelona, Spain
2. Unesco Chair on Food, Culture and Development, Open University of Catalonia (UOC), 08018 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: food habits; healthy diet; health education; eHealth
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Anna Bach-Faig

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Guest Editor

Foodlab Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: food; public health; dietary patterns; sustainability; Mediterranean Diet
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Dear Colleagues,

Breakfast and its effects on health has been discussed to some extent, but still deserves great scientific interest. Breakfast is considered one of the most important meals, yet we need some further steps for evidence-based food guidelines for a balanced breakfast for different food cultures. Regular and healthy breakfast consumption has the potential to prevent NCDs and improve the nutrition profile of diets. Skipping breakfast and the effects on weight and cognition, especially in children and adolescents regarding academic performance, have been hot topics in this field.

The metabolic effects of breakfast require further exploration, as several aspects intervene, such as its composition, energy intake, or the time of ingestion.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of the latest research around breakfast addressing topics such as food timing and chrono-nutrition, as well as breakfast composition and patterns in relation to health. Undoubtedly in a more Western breakfast, the influence of controversial sugary breakfast cereals or cookies, juices, and dairy products should be analyzed. For example, topics could include marketing or labeling and their impact on the consumption or choice.

Beyond the young, in an aging population, how should be the first meal of the day look for the elderly? What is the ideal protein quantity and origin? What should breakfast look like for athletes in order to optimize their performance? Are breakfast nutrition-education strategies effective for changing dietary behaviors?

We invite authors to submit relevant scientific original articles or reviews related to the topics summarized below:

Skipping, fasting, or timing.
Breakfast composition and quality. Breakfast patterns.
Breakfast and healthy aging.
Breakfast, physical activity and sport.
Breakfast products: marketing, labeling and health claims.
Breakfast nutrition interventions: school breakfast programs and other food education strategies.

Prof. Dr. Alicia Aguilar Martínez
Prof. Dr. Anna Bach-Faig
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

breakfast
meal timing
breakfast skipping
breakfast composition
breakfast patterns
breakfast foods
breakfast guidelines
diet quality
elderly
physical activity
nutrition intervention

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 326 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Social Inequalities in Breakfast Consumption among Adolescents in Spain: The DESKcohort Project

by Laura Esquius, Alicia Aguilar-Martínez, Marina Bosque-Prous, Helena González-Casals, Anna Bach-Faig, Ester Colillas-Malet, Gemma Salvador and Albert Espelt

Nutrients 2021, 13(8), 2500; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13082500 - 22 Jul 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4771

Abstract

Breakfast has a critical role in energy balance and dietary regulation. Consequently, it is considered an important component of a healthy diet, especially in adolescence, when there are great opportunities to consolidate habits and establish future patterns of healthiness in adulthood. Socioeconomic position (SEP) causes inequalities that are reflected in health behaviors, physical activity, mental health, and diet. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the 2019–2020 DESKcohort project (Spain) to explore the relationships between breakfast and sociodemographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, and school performance of 7319 adolescents. Our findings showed that the prevalence of skipping breakfast every day was 19.4% in girls and 13.7% in boys and was related to students’ SEP. The risk of skipping breakfast was 30% higher in girls from the most disadvantaged SEP, in comparison to those in the most advanced SEP (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.11–1.54). Also, boys from the most disadvantaged SEP showed 28% higher risk of skipping breakfast than those in the most advanced SEP (PR = 1.28; 95% CI = 1.04–1.59). In conclusion, future public policies should be adapted considering a SEP and gender perspective to avoid increasing nutritional and health inequalities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakfast and Health Benefit)

13 pages, 1204 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Breakfast Frequency and Composition in a Group of Polish Children Aged 7–10 Years

by Anna Kawalec and Krystyna Pawlas

Nutrients 2021, 13(7), 2241; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13072241 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3325

Abstract

Breakfast is considered one of the crucial elements of a healthy diet. Most studies evaluate breakfast consumption with the risk of obesity and other health effects. Less attention is paid to the evaluation of breakfast composition and patterns. Thus, this study aimed to describe the most frequently observed breakfast patterns and to assess breakfast composition and quality in a group of Polish early school-age children. The cross-sectional survey study was conducted in school years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019. Information regarding breakfast was obtained with the use of an original paper-based weekly observation diary, and breakfast quality was assessed with a special scoring designed to be used together with the diary. In total, 223 schoolchildren of the second and third grades participated in the study, and 200 diaries were analyzed. More than ¾ of the participants consumed breakfast every day. Nearly 68% of meals were classified as well balanced, but only 16.5% of children eat a well-balanced breakfast every day. The number of children who usually (≥5 times per week) eat a sandwich for breakfast was 94 (47%), and that of those who habitually eat cereal and milk or porridge was 29 (14.5%). Only 7% of children consumed fruit or vegetables for breakfast daily, and 26.5% never eat fruit or vegetables for breakfast. Concluding, most children eat breakfast regularly, but the meal composition and quality might be improved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakfast and Health Benefit)

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17 pages, 1101 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Breakfast Consumption Habits at Age 6 and Cognitive Ability at Age 12: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

by Jianghong Liu, Lezhou Wu, Phoebe Um, Jessica Wang, Tanja V. E. Kral, Alexandra Hanlon and Zumin Shi

Nutrients 2021, 13(6), 2080; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13062080 - 17 Jun 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3949

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the relationship between breakfast composition and long-term regular breakfast consumption and cognitive function. Participants included 835 children from the China Jintan Cohort Study for the cross-sectional study and 511 children for the longitudinal study. Breakfast consumption was assessed at ages 6 and 12 through parental and self-administered questionnaires. Cognitive ability was measured as a composition of IQ at age 6 and 12 and academic achievement at age 12, which were assessed by the Chinese versions of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and standardized school reports, respectively. Multivariable general linear and mixed models were used to evaluate the relationships between breakfast consumption, breakfast composition and cognitive performance. In the longitudinal analyses, 94.7% of participants consumed breakfast ≥ 4 days per week. Controlling for nine covariates, multivariate mixed models reported that compared to infrequent breakfast consumption, regular breakfast intake was associated with an increase of 5.54 points for verbal and 4.35 points for full IQ scores (p < 0.05). In our cross-sectional analyses at age 12, consuming grain/rice or meat/egg 6–7 days per week was significantly associated with higher verbal, performance, and full-scale IQs, by 3.56, 3.69, and 4.56 points, respectively (p < 0.05), compared with consuming grain/rice 0–2 days per week. Regular meat/egg consumption appeared to facilitate academic achievement (mean difference = 0.232, p = 0.043). No association was found between fruit/vegetable and dairy consumption and cognitive ability. In this 6-year longitudinal study, regular breakfast habits are associated with higher IQ. Frequent grain/rice and meat/egg consumption during breakfast may be linked with improved cognitive function in youth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakfast and Health Benefit)

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16 pages, 568 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cross-Sectional Associations between Mothers and Children’s Breakfast Routine—The Feel4Diabetes-Study

by Natalia Giménez-Legarre, Alba M. Santaliestra-Pasías, Greet Cardon, Rurik Imre, Violeta Iotova, Jemina Kivelä, Stavros Liatis, Konstantinos Makrilakis, Christina Mavrogianni, Tatjana Milenkovic, Anna Nánási, Tsvetalina Tankova, Patrick Timpel, Ruben Willems, Yannis Manios, Luis A. Moreno and on behalf of the Feel4Diabetes-Study Group

Nutrients 2021, 13(3), 720; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13030720 - 24 Feb 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2675

Abstract

Positive influences of family members have been associated with a high probability of children’s daily breakfast consumption. Therefore, the aim of this study was to scrutinize the association of breakfast routines between mothers and their children. The baseline data of the Feel4Diabetes-study was obtained in 9760 children (49.05% boys)–mother pairs in six European countries. A parental self-reported questionnaire gauging the frequency of breakfast consumption and of breakfast´ foods and beverages consumption was used. Agreement in routines of mothers and their children’s breakfast consumption was analyzed in sex-specific crosstabs. The relationship of breakfast routine and food groups’ consumption between mothers and their children was assessed with analysis of covariance. The highest proportion of children who always consumed breakfast were those whose mothers always consumed it. Children consuming breakfast regularly had a higher intake of milk or unsweetened dairy products and all kind of cereal products (low fiber and whole-grain) than occasional breakfast consumers (p < 0.05). The strong similarity between mothers and children suggests a transfer of breakfast routine from mothers to their children, as a high proportion of children who usually consume breakfast were from mothers also consuming breakfast. All breakfast foods and beverages consumption frequencies were similar between children and their mothers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakfast and Health Benefit)

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18 pages, 1014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Back in Time for Breakfast: An Analysis of the Changing Breakfast Cereal Aisle

by Emilie Croisier, Jaimee Hughes, Stephanie Duncombe and Sara Grafenauer

Nutrients 2021, 13(2), 489; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13020489 - 02 Feb 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5646

Abstract

Breakfast cereal improves overall diet quality yet is under constant scrutiny with assertions that the category has not improved over time. This study aimed to comprehensively analyse the category of breakfast cereals, the nutritional values, and health claims across eight distinct sub-categories at four time points (2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020). An audit of products from four major supermarkets in metropolitan Sydney (Aldi, Coles, IGA, and Woolworths) collected ingredient lists, nutrition information, claims and Health Star Rating (HSR) for biscuits and bites; brans; bubbles, puffs, and flakes; granola and clusters; hot cereal flavoured; hot cereal plain; muesli; breakfast biscuits. The median (IQR) were calculated for energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, dietary fibre, and sodium for comparisons over time points by nutrient. Data from 2013 was compared with 2020 (by sub-category and then for a sub-section of common products available at each time point). Product numbers between 2013 (n = 283) and 2020 (n = 543) almost doubled, led by granola and clusters. Whole grain cereals ≥ 8 g/serve made up 67% of products (↑114%). While there were positive changes in nutrient composition over time within the full data set, the most notable changes were in the nutrition composition of cereals marketed as the same product in both years (n = 134); with decreases in mean carbohydrate (2%), sugar (10%) and sodium (16%) (p < 0.000), while protein and total fat increased significantly (p = 0.036; p = 0.021). Claims regarding Dietary Fibre and Whole Grain doubled since 2013. Analysis of sub-categories of breakfast cereal assisted in identifying some changes over time, but products common to both timeframes provided a clearer analysis of change within the breakfast category, following introduction of HSR. Whole grain products were lower in the two target nutrients, sodium and sugars, and well-chosen products represent a better choice within this category. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakfast and Health Benefit)

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9 pages, 273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Breakfast Food Advertising and Prevention of Obesity: Analysis of the Nutritional Value of the Products and Discursive Strategies Used in the Breakfast Ads from 2015 to 2019

by Mireia Montaña Blasco and Mònika Jiménez-Morales

Nutrients 2021, 13(1), 231; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13010231 - 14 Jan 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4753

Abstract

Breakfast is widely considered the most important meal of the day. Despite this, the consumption of ready to eat industrial products with low nutritional value is increasing. This study correlated longitudinally the nutritional value of breakfast products with advertising discursive strategies. The research design applied quantitative analysis to compile all media advertising data from 2015 to 2019, qualitative analysis of the content, and a study of the adverts’ discourse. Moreover, a Nutri-score analysis was used to determine the products’ nutritional value. Results indicated that breakfast products advertised in Spain presented a low or very low nutritional value. In addition, they showed that the lower the nutritional value of the product, the greater the proportion of positive emotions or moods that emerge from the discourse used in the advertisement. To establish effective policies for the prevention of obesity, greater involvement of the government, and better self-regulation mechanisms for the food industry, communication agencies, and advertisers are needed. In this sense, the hedonistic language used in advertisements for unhealthy food must treated as a priority. This measure would have the aim not only of protecting minors from ads for unhealthy food that are broadcast during breakfast time but would also generate healthy eating patterns within the family. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Breakfast and Health Benefit)

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