Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSChild obesity linked to skipping breakfast
Children who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese and inactive, UK research has found.
The study, involving 4,326 secondary school children, found 32 per cent did not eat breakfast before leaving for school.
Girls who skipped breakfast were 92 per cent more likely to become obese than those who ate before school, and the figure was 62 per cent for boys.
The boys who did not eat breakfast were more likely to lead a sedentary lifestyle and have a poor level of cardiovascular fitness.
The Essex University study is published online in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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Readers' comments (1)
rebecca churchill | 21-Aug-2010 10:13 am
Oh please! What a waste of research money. Just stand outside my house and watch. The children 'breakfast' on their way to school with crisps, chocolate and Coke. At lunchtime you can't move on the pavement outside the local Greggs and chip shop. We can only guess what they have when they get home but from the mountains of ready meals purchased from Sainsbury and Iceland I don't think it's home cooked with fresh fruit and veg! If the level of obesity in this area is anything to go by then the problem is already at epidemic proportions.
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