Human Nutrition Laboratory, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Apr;31(2):87-93. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2012.10720013.
The aim of this study was to examine the associations among eating behavior, body mass index (BMI), and motor functional skills in Swiss elementary school children.
In total, 656 schoolchildren, aged 7 to 10 years, participated in the study. Five different, normalized, and standardized motor function tests (sidewise jumping, tapping, standing long jump, 20-m sprint, and shuttle run) that determine the coordinative and conditional skills were carried out with each child at 1 of 4 time points (8, 9, 10, or 11 am) along with anthropometric measurements. Furthermore, all children completed a nutrition survey including different questions on their eating habits with emphasis on breakfast and the morning snack at school.
Children consuming breakfast almost every day had a significantly (p < 0.05) lower BMI (16.7 ± 2.2 kg/m2) compared with children eating breakfast only sometimes or almost never (18.2 ± 3.0 kg/m2 and 18.8 ± 3.4 kg/m2, respectively). They also reached better scores in 3 of the 5 motor function tests (standing long jump, 20-m sprint, and shuttle run, p < 0.05). Furthermore, overweight and obese children reached poorer results in 4 disciplines of the motor functional tests (sidewise jumping, standing long jump, 20-m sprint, and shuttle run) than normal-weight children, and they tended to eat lunch and dinner more frequently in front of the TV or in their rooms (p < 0.05). In multiple regression analysis, BMI was a significant predictor of the results for sprint, sidewise jumping, standing long jump, and shuttle run, whereas daytime, breakfast frequency, and gender predicted only some of the outcomes.
This study clearly underlines the importance of breakfast for school-aged children: Children eating breakfast almost every day had better motor functional skills and a lower BMI than children not regularly eating breakfast. The study further hints at the importance of generally healthy nutritional habits with regard to both motor functional skills and healthy weight status.
本研究旨在探讨瑞士小学生的饮食行为、体重指数（BMI）和运动功能技能之间的关系。
共有 656 名 7 至 10 岁的学生参与了这项研究。在 4 个不同的时间点（上午 8 点、9 点、10 点或 11 点）对每个孩子进行了 5 项不同的、标准化的运动功能测试（侧身跳跃、敲击、立定跳远、20 米冲刺和往返跑），以确定协调和条件技能。此外，所有儿童都完成了一项营养调查，其中包括不同的问题，重点是早餐和学校的上午零食。
每天几乎都吃早餐的孩子的 BMI（16.7±2.2kg/m2）明显低于偶尔或几乎不吃早餐的孩子（18.2±3.0kg/m2和 18.8±3.4kg/m2）。他们在 5 项运动功能测试中的 3 项（立定跳远、20 米冲刺和往返跑）中得分也更高（p<0.05）。此外，超重和肥胖儿童在 5 项运动功能测试中的 4 项（侧身跳跃、立定跳远、20 米冲刺和往返跑）中得分均低于正常体重儿童，且他们倾向于在饭前或在房间里吃饭看电视（p<0.05）。在多元回归分析中，BMI 是冲刺、侧身跳跃、立定跳远和往返跑结果的一个重要预测因素，而白天、早餐频率和性别仅预测了部分结果。
本研究清楚地强调了早餐对学龄儿童的重要性：每天几乎都吃早餐的儿童的运动功能技能更好，BMI 也更低。该研究进一步暗示了普遍健康的营养习惯对运动功能技能和健康体重状态的重要性。
