Breakfast quality and its relationship to the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents in Guadalajara (Spain).

Introduction: Many young people today skip the first meal of the day in order to lose weight.

Objective: To study the impact of breakfast quality and skipping breakfast on the BMI and on the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

Method: A nutritional study was carried out on a population of 467 secondary school students (12-17 years of age) in Guadalajara, Spain based on seven-day food journal and food frequency questionnaires. Sociodemographic data were also collected. Anthropometric measurements of weight and adiposity (BMI, percentage body fat) were also taken.

Results: Boys aged 15-17 ate the highest proportion of full breakfasts (18.18%), compared with 4.34% for girls the same age. Inverse relationships were recorded between breakfast energy intake and the BMI (-0.1132) and between the BMI and calcium, fibre, dairy product, and cereal intake. There was practically no correlation between protein intake and the BMI. Subjects who did not eat dairy products and those who ate cooked breakfasts had the highest BMIs.

Conclusions: Skipping breakfast was not an effective way to lose weight, and weight was inversely related to breakfast quality.