Breakfast consumption by African-American and white adolescent girls correlates positively with calcium and fiber intake and negatively with body mass index.

Objective: To describe age- and race-related differences in breakfast consumption and to examine the association of breakfast intake with dietary calcium and fiber and body mass index (BMI).

Design: Data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study, a 9-year, longitudinal biracial cohort study with annual 3-day food records.

Subjects/setting: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study recruited 2,379 girls (1,166 white and 1,213 African American), aged 9 or 10 years at baseline for an observational study. Retention rates were very high at visits two through four (96%, 94%, and 91%), but declined to a low of 82% at visit seven, and increased to 89% at visit 10.

Main Outcome Measures: Frequency of breakfast consumption, dietary calcium and fiber, and BMI.

Statistical Analyses: Generalized estimation equations methodology was used to examine differences in the frequency of breakfast eating by age and race. Generalized estimation equations analyses were also conducted to test whether breakfast consumption was predictive of intake of dietary calcium and fiber, and BMI, adjusting for potentially confounding effects of site, age, race, parental education, physical activity, and total energy intake.

Results: Frequency of breakfast eating declined with age, white girls reported more frequent breakfast consumption than African-American girls, and the racial difference decreased with increasing age. Days eating breakfast were associated with higher calcium and fiber intake in all models, regardless of adjustment variables. Days eating breakfast were predictive of lower BMI in models that adjusted for basic demographics (ie, site, age, and race), but the independent effect of breakfast was no longer significant after parental education, energy intake, and physical activity were added to the model.

Conclusions: Dietetics professionals need to promote the importance of consuming breakfast to all children and adolescents, especially African-American girls.