Lifestyle and Health Research Center, Health Science Research Center, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P. O. Box: 93216, Riyadh, 11673, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Public Health. 2020 Apr 6;20(1):448. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8418-1.
Breakfast is an important meal that provides essential nutrients and energy. However, few comprehensive studies have reported breakfast habits and related behaviors among Saudi children. This study investigated breakfast consumption patterns and the associations of socio-demographic variables with daily breakfast intake among Saudi children.
A multistage stratified cluster random sampling technique was used to select 1051 elementary school boys and girls in Riyadh. Body weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) was computed. The breakfast eating habits and behaviors were assessed using a specifically designed self-reported questionnaire that was completed by the children's parents.
More than 79% of children skipped daily breakfast, with no significant sex difference. Children in private schools consumed breakfast more frequently than those attending public schools. Multivariate analyses showed that boys in private schools had a significantly higher intake of breakfast than that in boys in public schools, yet, boys in public schools had significantly higher BMI than boys in private schools. Using logistic regression while adjusting for confounders showed insignificant effect for parent education. Among breakfast eaters, spread cheese sandwiches were consumed most frequently, followed by fried egg sandwiches and breakfast cereals. Full-fat milk, tea with milk, water, and fruit juice were the most consumed drinks. Girls consumed significantly more fresh fruits during breakfast than did boys. Mothers prepared breakfast at home most of the time (84.5%). Parents appeared mostly satisfied with the breakfast consumed by their child at home and placed high importance on breakfast compared to lunch or dinner.
The proportion of school children who ate daily breakfast at home was low, which may have implications for children's school performance. Effort is needed to promote daily breakfast consumption among Saudi school children and to introduce appropriate interventions aimed at promoting daily breakfast consumption among Saudi children.
早餐是提供必要营养和能量的重要一餐。然而，很少有全面的研究报告过沙特儿童的早餐习惯和相关行为。本研究调查了沙特儿童的早餐消费模式，以及社会人口变量与每日早餐摄入的相关性。
采用多阶段分层聚类随机抽样技术，在利雅得选择了 1051 名小学男女生。测量体重和身高，并计算体重指数（BMI）。通过专门设计的自我报告问卷评估早餐饮食习惯和行为，由儿童的父母填写。
超过 79%的儿童不吃每日早餐，且男女之间无显著差异。私立学校的儿童比公立学校的儿童更频繁地吃早餐。多变量分析显示，私立学校的男孩比公立学校的男孩早餐摄入量显著更高，然而，公立学校的男孩 BMI 显著高于私立学校的男孩。在调整混杂因素后使用逻辑回归，父母教育的影响无统计学意义。在吃早餐的儿童中，最常吃的是涂奶酪的三明治，其次是煎蛋三明治和早餐麦片。全脂牛奶、加奶茶、水和果汁是最常喝的饮料。女孩在早餐时摄入的新鲜水果明显多于男孩。大多数时候（84.5%）都是母亲在家准备早餐。父母对孩子在家吃的早餐大多表示满意，并认为早餐比午餐或晚餐更重要。
在家吃每日早餐的学龄儿童比例较低，这可能对儿童的学业表现产生影响。需要努力促进沙特学龄儿童的每日早餐消费，并引入适当的干预措施，旨在促进沙特儿童的每日早餐消费。
