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Breakfast skipping by children, with its varying global prevalence and associated factors, is well documented to adversely affect their health, cognitive ability, academic performance and anthropometric status. Libya, a country with a young population base, has limited information on breakfast skipping prevalence among its young citizens as well as its compounding factors unique to the country. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the breakfast skipping pattern among Benghazi primary school children.

The paper's approach is to use a cross sectional study among 386 primary school children (196 males and 190 females) using an interviewer‐administered structured questionnaire. The enrolment exclusion criteria were a pre‐existing chronic disease or a food allergy or food intolerance or any acute illness.

Breakfast skipping during weekdays (38.6 per cent, n=149), reduced drastically on weekends (1.0 per cent, n=4); 10.7 per cent subjects skipped breakfast daily (mean 2.5 + 1.3 days). Absence of hunger and lack of time to eat or prepare breakfast were cited as main barriers in its regular consumption. Bread and milk were the most commonly consumed breakfast foods. Certain groups of regular breakfast eating subjects consumed higher (p < 0.05) dietary thiamine and iron than their breakfast skipping counterparts and also better fulfilled their daily requirements for these nutrients. Parental breakfast eating habits influenced their children's breakfast eating pattern.

Efforts, including better time management, are required to inculcate a positive breakfast eating attitude among Benghazi primary school children. Their parents need to act as better role models by adopting healthy breakfast eating practices themselves.

The paper shows that breakfast skipping among Benghazi primary school children is a nutritional problem of grave concern, warranting a public health intervention.

Consumption of breakfast is often associated with important health‐related behaviours. For example, skipping breakfast is related to obesity and eating breakfast is also correlated to cognitive, behavioural, and affective components. The purpose of this paper is to review the breakfast eating literature, and investigate the circumstances under which people consume breakfast, what is actually being consumed, and how much breakfast is eaten therefore.

This systematic review summarises the results from 24 studies which focus on who is eating what, where, and with whom.

All 24 of the included studies are of a self‐report nature, from which nine were analysed from second‐hand survey data. Sample sizes vary from 100 to a total of 35,119 with a reported participants' age range from two years old to 70 years of age. Ready‐to‐eat cereal and dairy foods are the most commonly consumed breakfast items across the studies. Between 1.7 and 30 per cent of participants are found to skip breakfast and approximately one‐quarter of the studies report that those with lower socio‐economic status, non‐whites, and females were the groups more likely to omit breakfast.

The evidence provided in this review suggests that there is still considerable variation in studies into breakfast consumption. This has implications for future research into breakfast eating if interventions are based on these studies.

There are very few systematic reviews detailing the quality, context, and content of breakfast consumption and the lack of consistency in the results show the need for further research to be conducted to find a degree of consistency in how breakfast should be defined and measured.

Several cross‐sectional studies reported that breakfast skipping and a poor consumption of fruits and vegetables are associated with overweight and obesity‐related morbidities. In this respect healthy eating habits such as regular breakfast and a sufficient intake of fruit and vegetables are two important items to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity. The purpose of this study is to determine the breakfast frequency and the fruit and vegetable consumption in Belgian adolescents.

A cross‐sectional study using pupils contacted by nurses in schools during an information session about female hygiene. On that occasion all pupils (boys and girls) completed a questionnaire concerning their eating habits. Subjects were boys (n = 1390) and girls (n = 3610) between 12 and 15 years of age from the main three educational programmes (general, technical and occupational programme).

Socio‐economic status significantly influenced breakfast frequency with differences between the highest educational programme (general) and the lower technical‐ and occupational programmes. The use of daily breakfast was respectively 67 versus 49 and 48 per cent for the boys and 60 versus 42 and 39 per cent for the girls). For both sexes breakfast frequency decreased when comparing age groups from 12 with 15 years of age respectively from 67 to 55 per cent for the boys and from 61 to 47 per cent for the girls. Half of the subjects who declared to have overweight (self‐image) did not take breakfast at a regular base. Twenty six per cent of the boys of the French speaking part and 19 per cent of the boys of the Flemish speaking part of Belgium declared to take only one or less than one portion of fruit and/or vegetables a day. For the girls the reported intake of one or less than one portion of fruit and/or vegetables was respectively 20 and 16 per cent. Only 13 per cent of the French speaking boys and 10 per cent of the Flemish speaking boys reported an intake of four or more fruits and/or vegetables a day. The percentage of girls reaching an intake of four or more a day was 15 per cent for the two language regions. Fruit and/or vegetable intake was influenced significantly by the educational programme and by the educational level of the mother. In conclusion, healthy eating habits among girls and boys in Belgium (as estimated by breakfast frequency and fruit and/or vegetable intake) are rather poor. These habits are influenced by age, educational programme, self‐image and educational level of the mother.

In the light of these findings action should be taken to improve the eating habits among Belgian children to prevent childhood obesity.

Breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day and its consumption has been linked with aspects of health, such as nutrient intake and cognitive powers. Aims to review some of the literature on the subject and present new data on breakfast consumption patterns from the authors′ dietary survey of Scottish schoolchildren. Frequency of breakfast consumption and type of breakfast chosen was investigated in boys and girls in low and high socio‐economic groups. Few children missed breakfast and the most popular choice was ready‐to‐eat (RTE) breakfast cereal. Children from the low socio‐economic group tended to favour bread or toast. Differences in nutrient intake between RTE cereal eaters and the rest of the group were found and it was concluded that, although the dietary intake of this former group appeared more favourable, further research was required to establish a more definite causative effect.

The purpose of this study is to respond to calls to increase levels of theory application and extend understanding beyond individuals ensuring social and structural environmental considerations are taken into account. Social cognitive theory (SCT) was applied across two settings to examine its potential to explain breakfast eating frequency.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two institutional feeding populations [military (n = 314) and mining (n = 235)]. Participants reported key SCT constructs including breakfast eating behaviour (self-efficacy, skills, practice), cognitive aspects (knowledge, attitude, expectations) and their perceptions regarding environmental constructs (access, social norms, influence). These were measured and analysed through SPSS and structural equation modelling (SEM).

Results indicated that 71% males and 90% females in the military do not eat breakfast at work, and in the mining, 23% males and 24% of females do not eat breakfast at work. Furthermore, SEM modelling found only a satisfactory fit for SCT as operationalised in this study. Within the models, behavioural aspects of self-efficacy, skills and practice were significant influences on breakfast eating. Cognitive influences and perceptions of environmental influences exerted little to no effect on breakfast eating. Study results indicate that SCT, as measured in this study using a selection of environment, cognitive and behavioural constructs, does not offer sufficient explanatory potential to explain breakfast eating behaviour.

The value of this paper is to deliver a complete application of Social Cognitive Theory, ensuring multiple constructs are measured to examine the explanatory behaviour of breakfast eating frequency in workplace institutional settings.

Breakfast consumption is associated with a range of beneficial health outcomes including improved overall diet quality, lower BMI, decreased risk of chronic disease, and improved cognitive function. Although there are many models of health and social behaviour, there is a paucity of research utilising these in breakfast consumption and very few studies that directly compare these models. This study aims to compare the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health action process approach (HAPA) in predicting breakfast consumption.

University students (N=102; M=19.5 years) completed a questionnaire measuring demographics, TPB and HAPA motivational variables, and intentions. Behaviour and HAPA volitional variables were measured four weeks later.

Using structural equation modelling, it was found that the TPB model was a superior fit to the data across a range of model indices compared to the HAPA. Both models significantly predicted both intentions and behaviour at follow up; however, the TPB predicted a higher proportion of the variance in breakfast consumption (47.6 per cent) than the HAPA (44.8 per cent). Further, the volitional variables did not mediate the intention-behaviour gap, and the data were not an adequate statistical fit to the model compared to the TPB.

The results support the use of the TPB and show that some aspects of the HAPA are useful in predicting breakfast consumption, suggesting that risk perception and self-efficacy be targeted in interventions to increase behaviour. The volitional variables did not appear to mediate breakfast consumption indicating that intention is still the strongest predictor, at least in this behaviour.

The current study is the first to compare the TPB and HAPA in predicting breakfast consumption.

The Malaysian movement control order is a series of national lockdowns implemented by the Malaysian federal government to contain the spread of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). The government has made it mandatory for all non-essential sectors to work remotely to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The eating behavior of working adults may have altered following the changes in working norms. This study aimed to assess the eating behavior of remote working adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 159 remote working adults were recruited through a convenience sampling approach. Bodyweight and body height were self-reported by the respondents. Body mass index was calculated according to the cut-off of World Health Organization standards. The eating behavior was evaluated using the eating behavior questionnaire.

Results revealed more than half of the remote working respondents did not practice meal skipping. Irrespective of the gender, more than 70% of the respondents consumed either breakfast, lunch or dinner every day. Most of the respondents consumed vegetables, bread/rice/noodles and meat/chicken at least two times per day. Regression analysis revealed meal skipping was associated with younger people, overweight status and median monthly household income.

Many sectors adopted remote working systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is postulated that working remotely will be a new normal even after this pandemic. Until now, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, little or no data are available on assessing the eating behavior of remote working adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study could provide an insight into the eating behavior of adults during remote working.

A number of interventions aimed at increasing breakfast consumption have been designed and implemented in recent years. This paper seeks to review the current research in this area with the aim of identifying common features of successful interventions and strengths and weaknesses in the current research methodology.

A systematic review of interventions aimed at increasing breakfast‐eating frequency in a non‐clinical sample was conducted.

A total of 11 interventions were identified and reviewed; of these, only three resulted in an increase in breakfast consumption at follow‐up. The three studies that were successful in changing breakfast consumption all included a psychosocial component that was successful in increasing positive attitudes towards nutrition in the intervention protocol. Many of the breakfast‐eating interventions included in this review have methodological weaknesses, including difficulties in implementing interventions, small sample sizes, and selection biases, which future researchers should consider when designing and evaluating their own interventions.

These findings highlight the importance of including psychosocial components in interventions designed to increase breakfast consumption, while also signalling issues that should be addressed when designing and reporting future interventions.

This review was the first to investigate the efficacy of interventions aimed at increasing breakfast consumption. The identification of weaknesses in the current body of research, and of successful and unsuccessful intervention practices is an important step in developing successful interventions in the future.

The study aimed to analyse the nutritional quality of self-proposed or prescribed weight-loss diets shared by female Korean adolescents through a social media platform and identified potential dietary problems.

A total of 317 weight-loss diets, shared by 107 female adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 in April 2019, were collected from three Kakao Open Chat rooms of which the main topic was “weight-loss diet”. The weight-loss diets were converted to daily energy and nutrient intake.

Approximately two-thirds of the subjects were normal or underweight, and more than half of them were limiting energy intake to less than half of the recommended daily amounts. The average daily intake of energy and most nutrients did not meet the standard intake levels. Approximately 20% of the subjects were breakfast skippers, while 8 and 5% were dinner and lunch skippers, respectively. Notably, meal skippers tended to fast longer and have an uneven distribution of daily energy intake per meal. The percentages of energy contribution from macronutrients, particularly carbohydrates, also deviated more from the acceptable range in the meal skippers. The weight-loss diets of the subjects with particularly low daily energy intake were categorised into simplified, unbalanced and nutrient-poor, energy-dense meals. Overall, the nutritional quality of the self-proposed or prescribed weight-loss diets was poor. More effective and proactive educational interventions in school environments should be developed to promote positive eating behaviours in adolescents and free them from their obsession with body image.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to analyse the nutritional quality of female adolescents' self-proposed or prescribed weight-loss diets.

The purpose of this paper is to report findings on an initiative set up by The Welsh Assembly Government to provide free, healthy breakfasts to primary school children throughout Wales.

The research employed a cluster randomised controlled trial design with 58 schools in South, West and North Wales. Quantitative measures were taken at baseline, four months and 12 months.

With the injection of more money and effective services it was found that the free school breakfast initiative could help improve health and social inequalities.

This paper provides some of the background to the initiative, describes the evaluation and highlights some of the key methodological issues that arose during the course of the research.