Abstract

FUGAS, Valeria et al. Breakfast habit and quality in students from two public primary schools in the city of Santa Fe. Arch. argent. pediatr. [online]. 2013, vol.111, n.6. ISSN 0325-0075.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5546/aap.2013.502.

Introduction. Breakfast provides the necessary energy and nutrients to achieve an optimal physical and mental performance. Objective. To fnd out breakfast frequency, factors that influence breakfast habit and skipping, breakfast quality and snack intake in children from public schools in the city of Santa Fe. Population and Methods. Descriptive, cross-sectional study. A total of 637 students were assessed using a closed-ended question survey. Results. Seventy fve percent of children had breakfast on a daily basis; only 1.6% had a good quality breakfast. Eating breakfast every day or some days did not depend on having the company of a family member. In the case of frst to ffth grade children, the weekly frequency depended on having a family member who made it (p= 0.04). The main cause for skipping breakfast was lack of time. Twenty-three percent of children in sixth and seventh grade indicated feeling unwell when having breakfast. More than 50% of children watched television while having breakfast. Most students in frst to third grade had breakfast that could be improved (41%) and which was insufficient (41%). An insufficient quality breakfast was more common among fourth and ffth grade students (50%). A remarkable piece of information is the number of sixth and seventh grade children who had a poor quality breakfast (16%). Very few children had a snack that was appropriate to supplement the fnal quality of breakfast. Conclusions. Although a high percentage of school-aged children are used to having breakfast, most have an incomplete breakfast. Very few manage to supplement their breakfast with snacks at mid-morning.

Keywords : Breakfast frequency; Breakfast quality; Snacks; Students.

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