The Effect of Regular Breakfast on Body Mass Index in 9- to 10-year-old Czech Children

Weekday breakfast habits and mood at the start of the school morning

BACKGROUND

Good nutrition, regular physical activity, and adequate sleep are important for promoting health. However, it is not well characterized how these lifestyle behaviours are associated with mood at the start of school days.

AIM

To identify the weekday health-related behaviours (breakfast intake, physical activity, and sleep) of Singaporean adolescents and explore their associations with mood at the beginning of the school morning.

METHODS

365 adolescents (52.3% boys, 47.7% girls) aged 14-19 years (M = 16.9, SD = 1.3 years) completed a survey set on breakfast habits, physical activity participation, sleep duration, and mood.

RESULTS

More than one-third (38.6%) of participants never (15.0%) or irregularly (23.6%) consumed breakfast on weekdays. Adolescents consuming breakfast irregularly reported significantly higher negative mood scores than regular breakfast consumers (p = .002; d = .404). Almost two-thirds (64.1%) of adolescents did <60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on weekdays and reported lower positive morning mood scores than those who ≥60 min of MVPA (p = .014; d = .284). Although most (88.3%) adolescents slept <8 h each night, sleep duration was not related to either positive mood or negative mood.

CONCLUSION

The present study suggests that eating breakfast on a regular basis and completing for ≥60 min of weekday MVPA are useful behaviours to start school days in a better mood. Parents and health educators should recognise the importance of establishing these habits and support students by instigating practical approaches so they can achieve a regular breakfast intake and physical activity engagement.

Obesidad, autoestima y condición física en escolares

Introducción. La obesidad infantil es un problema grave de salud pública, ya que genera resultados adversos para la salud física y mental.Objetivo. Relacionar el estado nutricional con los niveles de autoestima y rendimiento físico en escolares de 8 a 10 años de edad.Materiales y métodos. Participaron 236 escolares: 117 hombres y 119 mujeres, de entre 8 y 10 años de edad, pertenecientes a dos colegios del municipio de Temuco con carácter estatal-municipal. Se evaluó peso, talla, índice de masa corporal, porcentaje de masa/grasa, contorno cintura, condición física, horas de ejercicio físico a la semana y autoestima.Resultados. El 43.6% de los escolares presentó malnutrición por exceso. Los categorizados como obesos (19%) presentaron niveles superiores en masa grasa y contorno cintura (p<0.001), además obtuvieron un rendimiento físico menor (p<0.05). Las horas realizadas de ejercicio físico a la semana y el nivel de autoestima fueron menores en lo escolares obesos, pero estos no alcanzaron significancia (p≥ 0.05).Conclusiones. La obesidad en edad escolar pone de manifiesto alteraciones asociadas con el rendimiento físico, la masa grasa y las tendencias negativas sobre la autoestima. A pesar de ser una etapa temprana, se pueden apreciar las consecuencias asociadas a esta condición.