Breakfast has earned the title as the most important meal of the day, yet it is the
meal most often missed. This statement is supported by research that has shown an
association between breakfast consumption and overall nutritional quality of the diets
of children and adolescents (
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
7
), and national data that document a decline in breakfast consumption by youth in
the United States (
8
). Moreover, relative to its energy contribution, breakfast provides a higher percentage
of micronutrients than other meals consumed during the day (
9
). In addition to being a marker for an appropriate micronutrient and macronutrient
intake pattern (
3
), regularity in breakfast consumption has been linked with improvement in academic
performance and psychosocial functioning (
10
) as well as cognition (
11
) among children. Furthermore, breakfast consumption is considered an important determinant
of a healthful lifestyle (
12
), and its association with healthful behaviors may favorably influence body mass
index (BMI) (
13
).- Affenito S.G.
- Thompson D.R.
- Barton B.A.
- Franko D.L.
- Daniels S.R.
- Obarzanek E.
- Schreiber G.B.
- Striegel-Moore R.H.
Breakfast consumption by African-American and white adolescent girls correlates positively
with calcium and fiber intake and negatively with body mass index.
J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105: 938-945
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Biography
S. G. Affenito is an associate professor, Department of Nutrition, Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, CT.
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© 2007 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
