Supermarket shelves are full of quick fixes, including cereal bars, Pop Tarts
and various other microwavable breakfast items.
Moms today are bombarded with
commercials touting the latest and quickest way to feed their kids in the morning. However,
studies have shown that what kids eat for breakfast can make all the difference in
their long-term health.
"It's hard enough to get kids to wake up
for school in the morning, let alone get them
motivated enough to carve out the time for a
healthy breakfast."
Previous research provides evidence that kids who eat breakfast on a regular
basis are much more likely to meet recommended intakes of vitamins and minerals than
children who don't eat breakfast regularly. Researchers think this might be attributed
to the consumption of breakfast cereals, many of which are fortified with
essential nutrients and provide a good source of dietary fiber. Research also shows that
kids who eat cereal for breakfast consume significantly less fat and cholesterol
than children who eat other foods for breakfast. However, despite these findings, less
is known about the relationship between the consumption of cereal and body mass index
in children.
In this particular study, researchers analyzed data from a 10-year longitudinal
cohort study of more than 2,300 adolescent girls who were between 9 and 10 years old
at the start of the study. Dietary habits were tracked annually, using a three-day
food questionnaire documenting the frequency of breakfast consumption and whether
cereal was part of the kids' breakfast choices. Researchers also tracked the
children's intake of dietary fiber, fat, calcium, iron, folic acid, vitamin C and zinc.
Researchers concluded that, "compared with girls who ate cereal on 0 days, girls
who ate cereal on 1, 2 or 3 days were 0.93, 0.90 and 0.87 times as likely to be at
risk of overweight; that is, eating cereal on 1 or more days resulted in a reduction
in risk of overweight" Researchers also found
that "a similar trend was seen for breakfast consumption, with those consuming breakfast on 3 days having lover BMIs
than girls who skipped breakfast on all or most days."
In the study's conclusion, the researchers pointed out that their analysis
"clearly demonstrated that cereal consumption was predictive of lower
BMI" in adolescent females. They also stated that cereal consumption "had positive effects on
nutrient intake in girls, resulting in diets significantly lower in fat and cholesterol."
To help kids maintain a healthy weight and promote good dietary habits, make
sure they eat a healthy breakfast preferably cereal.
Resource
Barton BA, Eldridge AL, Thompson D, et al. The relationship of breakfast and cereal
consumption to nutrient intake and body mass index: The National Heart, Lung and Blood
Institute Growth and Health Study. Journal of the American Dietetic
Association September 2005;105:1383-1389.