The link between breakfast skipping and overweigh/obesity in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis of observational studies

Edris Ardeshirlarijani; Nazli Namazi; Masoumeh Jabbari; Mina Zeinali; Hadis Gerami; Reza B Jalili; Bagher Larijani; Leila Azadbakht

doi:10.1007/s40200-019-00446-7

The link between breakfast skipping and overweigh/obesity in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis of observational studies

J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2019 Nov 28;18(2):657-664. doi: 10.1007/s40200-019-00446-7. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Authors

Edris Ardeshirlarijani¹, Nazli Namazi², Masoumeh Jabbari³, Mina Zeinali⁴, Hadis Gerami⁵, Reza B Jalili⁶, Bagher Larijani⁷, Leila Azadbakht^{2

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Affiliations

¹ 1Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
² 2Diabetes Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ 3Student Research Committee, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Industry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ 4Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Health, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
⁵ 5Obesity and Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular- Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ 6Burn and Wound Healing Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
⁷ 7Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁸ 8Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁹ 9Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: Childhood overweight/ obesity is one of critical public health concern. It has been suggested that there is a link between breakfast skipping and obesity. However, results are conflicting. The aim of the present study was to summarize the association between breakfast skipping and overweight/obesity in children and adolescent.

Methods: We performed a literature search using Pubmed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and EMBASE electronic databases from 2000 through 28 February 2018 without language limitation. Observational studies in which risk measures were reported regarding the link between breakfast skipping and obesity in children and adolescent were included. Studies with at least the score of 5 from Newcastle-Ottawa Scale were considered as low risk of bias. Random effect model was used for data synthesis.

Results: Of 3276 publications, finally 16 studies (14 cross-sectional studies, 2 cohort studies) were included for meta-analysis. Based on cross-sectional studies, we found a positive association between breakfast skipping and obesity (Odd ratio (OR) _{trim & fill}: 1.43; 95%CI: 1.32, 1.54), while cohort studies showed no significant link (OR:1.01, 95%CI: 0.93, 1.11; I2: 48%, p = 0.14). Subgroup analysis in cross-sectional studies showed that the association between breakfast skipping and the risk of obesity in boys was OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.38, 1.95; I²: 38.3%, p = 0.18, while it was 1.56 (95% CI: 1.38, 1.77, I²: 0.0%, p = 0.49) in girls.

Conclusion: The risk of obesity in children and adolescents who skipped breakfast was 43% greater than those who ate breakfast regularly in cross-sectional studies, while no significant link was found in cohort studies. However, due to high heterogeneity and limited cohort studies, findings should be interpreted by caution.

Keywords: Adolescent; Breakfast skipping; Child; Obesity.

Publication types

Review