Breakfast eating pattern and its association with dietary quality indices and anthropometric measurements in young women in Isfahan.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between consuming or skipping breakfast and dietary quality indices such as the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), diversity scores of different food groups, and anthropometric measurements in young Isfahanian women.

METHODS

Women 18 to 28 y old were selected randomly from among university students (n = 411) in Isfahan, Iran. A validated semiquantitative questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Five food groups of the Food Guide Pyramid were considered for calculating the DDS and diversity score of the food groups. Subjects were categorized based on consuming or skipping breakfast. The HEI was calculated based on 10 components including the five food groups, different fat and sodium intakes, and the DDS.

RESULTS

Breakfast consumers versus skippers had higher scores for the HEI (66 ± 13 versus 47 ± 13, P = 0.001), the DDS (6.8 ± 1.2 versus 4.9 ± 0.7, P = 0.001), and the DDSs for fruits (1.3 ± 0.2 versus 0.9 ± 0.1, P = 0.001), vegetables (1.6 ± 0.2 versus 1.2 ± 0.1, P = 0.001), and whole grains (1.3 ± 0.2 versus 0.9 ± 0.1, P = 0.001). Also, eating breakfast was associated with lower values for dietary energy density (0.96 ± 0.25 versus 1.04 ± 0.40, P = 0.01), the body mass index (20.0 ± 1.8 versus 23.3 ± 2.7, P = 0.001), and waist circumference (69.2 ± 7.6 versus 72.5 ± 8.7, P = 0.001). There was a higher prevalence of breakfast consumers in the third tertiles of the HEI and DDS. However, there was a smaller percentage of breakfast consumers in the third tertiles of the body mass index and waist circumference.

CONCLUSIONS

Breakfast consumption was associated with higher scores of the dietary quality indices and lower values for the body mass index and waist circumference in young Isfahanian women. Further studies should be performed to determine the relation between the kind of breakfast consumed and the dietary quality indices.