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Poor breakfast habits in adolescence linked to future metabolic syndrome
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Poor eating habits at breakfast during adolescence may predict the onset of metabolic syndrome in adulthood, according to a recent prospective study.
Researchers evaluated participants from the Northern Swedish Cohort, a longitudinal, population-based cohort of students aged 16 years at a Swedish compulsory school. At a baseline assessment in 1981, participants filled out detailed questionnaires pertaining to lifestyle, health and socioeconomic status. Follow-up assessments of these participants were conducted in 1983 (age 18 years), 1986 (age 21 years), 1995 (age 30 years) and 2008 (age 43 years). The final study population consisted of 889 participants who reported their breakfast habits at age 16 years and underwent metabolic syndrome assessment at age 43 years.
Health examinations were performed during the initial visit and at the 1986 and 2008 follow-up, and a comprehensive medical examination was conducted in 2008 to determine the incidence of metabolic syndrome. Poor breakfast habits were defined as consumption of only a sweet food or beverage, or skipping breakfast altogether.
At the 2008 follow-up, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome within the cohort was 27%. Poor breakfast habits at age 16 years were ascribed to 9.9% of the total study population, and these patients were at significantly increased risk for metabolic syndrome at age 43 years compared with those with better breakfast habits (OR=1.68; 95% CI, 1.01- 2.78). Poor breakfast habits at age 16 years also were associated with central obesity (OR=1.71; 95% CI, 1-2.92) and high fasting glucose levels (OR=1.75; 95% CI, 1.01-3.02) at age 43 years, via multivariate analysis.
The researchers wrote that these findings are particularly significant in light of the poor breakfast habits of many Americans and Europeans.
“Considering the amount of people skipping breakfast in the USA and Europe, it is crucial from a public health point of view to identify predictors and in future research also analyze possible causal mechanisms behind adolescent breakfast habits and future metabolic risk,” the researchers wrote. “Offering breakfast in schools, in so-called school breakfast programs, has been shown to have beneficial effects on academic performance, but the implications for metabolic health are unclear. … Future research is needed to understand how the relationship between early breakfast habits and adult metabolic syndrome is mediated.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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