The study also indicates skipping breakfast "may predispose" girls to diets that are low in calcium and fiber, and that girls who routinely eat breakfast have a reduced body mass index compared with girls who are "infrequent breakfast eaters."
The study was conducted by researchers at Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Maryland Medical Research Institute; National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; Northeastern University; St. Joseph (Conn.) College, Wesleyan University and Westat Inc., Rockville, Md. They examined food records for 2,379 girls, beginning at age 9 or 10, who participated in NHLBI's nine-year bi-racial Growth Health Study.
Among the findings:
- At all ages between 9 and 19, African-American girls consistently ate breakfast less frequently than white girls.
- Rates of breakfast consumption dropped from more than 77 percent for 9-year-old white girls and 57 percent for 9-year-old African-American girls to less than 32 percent and 22 percent, respectively, by age 19.
- At age 9, fewer than 1 percent of white girls and 2.5 percent of African-American girls skipped breakfast on each day of a three-day tracking period. But by age 19, more than 19 percent of white girls and 24 percent of African-American girls skipped breakfast all three days.
- Girls who consistently ate breakfast had a lower body mass index than those who skipped breakfast.
- Girls who consistently ate breakfast had higher fiber and calcium intakes.
"Based on the results of our study, we conclude that skipping breakfast becomes more frequent as children grow older and may predispose adolescent girls to diets that are inadequate in calcium and fiber," the researchers wrote, adding that "eating breakfast may be associated with healthful behaviors such as physical activity."
The researchers urge health professionals to "be aware of the age and race-related differences in breakfast eating… promote the importance of eating a healthful breakfast meal to children and adolescents and be aware that African-American girls may be particularly likely to omit breakfast."
The Journal of the American Dietetic Association is the official research publication of the American Dietetic Association and is the premier peer-reviewed journal in the field of nutrition and dietetics. With nearly 65,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. Based in Chicago, ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. Visit ADA at www.eatright.org.
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Journal of the American Dietetic Association