Aim: To assess the influence of eating breakfast on the consumption of selected food and overweight prevalence among adolescents from different age groups.
Material and methods: The study group consisted of students aged 13-18.9 (n=1700). Their height and weight measurements were used to calculate their body mass index and interpreted according to international standards for adolescents. Food consumption was assessed via the frequency method and involved the consumption of breakfast, dietary "bre and sweetened beverages. We used Block's validated questionnaire to assess the intake of dietary "bre and its sources. Analysis of the results was carried out in three age groups: 13-14.9, 15-16.9 and 17-18.9 years old. We used one-factor logistic regression adjusted by gender.
Results: The percentage of adolescents with a regular habit of eating breakfast dropped by 5.7 percentage points when compared to adolescents aged 13-14.9 and 17-18.9 (from 54.2% to 48.5%), which was a phenomenon accompanied by an increase in the percentage of adolescents who ate breakfast irregularly or hardly ever (by 3.7 and 1.9 percentage points, respectively). Eating breakfast infrequently was related to a more frequent consumption of sweetened beverages (the odds ratio: from 2.32 to 2.67 depending on the age group) and a higher prevalence of a "bre-poor diet (from 1.49 to 2.23). Among adolescents aged 13-14.9 who hardly ever ate breakfast, the chance of being overweight increased by 83% in comparison to adolescents with regular habits of eating breakfast.
Conclusions: The frequency of eating breakfast decreased with the adolescents' age, especially among girls. Eating breakfast infrequently was associated with unhealthy nutrition, typical examples of which are lower intake of dietary "bre and more frequent consumption of sweetened beverages, and in the youngest group of adolescents caused a higher prevalence of overweight.