engleski

The quality of breakfast eaten at home vs. school in primary school children

Similar to skipping of breakfast, the consumption of low-quality breakfasts may contribute to nutritional deficits and poor academic performance in primary school children. The aim of this study was to estimate breakfast quality of primary school children and whether quality differs between breakfasts consumed at home from ones served in the school. The breakfast consumption on weekdays was observed from 3-day dietary records of 192 children (52.1% of boys) aged 8.9 ± 0.5 years from the City of Zagreb. Breakfast was defined as first meal of the day eaten before 10.30 AM. The energy and nutritional value of breakfasts was calculated using Croatian National Food Composition Tables and food labels of products. Breakfast quality was estimated using Breakfast Quality Index (BQI) for children. On total, children consumed 422 breakfasts on weekdays, of which 329 were consumed at home and 93 at school. The average daily energy intake from consumed breakfasts was 287 kcal (211 kcal – 375 kcal). The number of points achieved by BQI was on average 4.0 (4.0 – 5.0) out of a possible 10. The breakfast quality did not differ (p=0.722) between breakfasts consumed at home (4.0 ; 4.0 – 5.0) and at school (4.0 ; 3.0 – 5.0). Similar proportion (p=0.304) of breakfasts consumed at home (76.0%) and at school (72.0%) were classified as medium- quality breakfasts, while poor quality had 22.2% and 28.0% breakfasts, respectively. According to BQI components, similar proportion of breakfasts from both locations contained food rich in simple sugars, had lower ratio of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids than study population’s median, provided 200-300 mg of calcium and contributed 20-25% to daily energy intake. A greater proportion of breakfasts consumed at home contained dairy products and monounsaturated fatty acids rich food. However, a greater proportion of breakfasts consumed at school contained cereals, fruit and/or vegetables, combination of cereals, fruit and dairy products in one meal but also saturated fatty acids rich food. In conclusion, it is necessary to improve the quality of breakfasts at both locations, conducting nutritional education and creating an environment that supports desirable eating habits.

Children ; Breakfast ; Breakfast quality ; School breakfast

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