Breakfast Habits of Some Utah School Children

• Main Author: Stegelmeier, Marlene M.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@USU 1957
• Subjects: Nutrition
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4778; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5824&context=etd

During the last 10 years, much emphasis has been placed on the importance of breakfast for people of all ages. Nutritionists have pointed out that persons who eat a hearty breakfast show fewer signs of mid-morning fatigue, have or develop better work habits, and do not get as hungry as those who eat little or no breakfast. Many people do not realize the importance of starting the day with a good breakfast. The 12 to 13 hour fast which the body undergoes from the evening meal until breakfast time requires the consumption of an adequate breakfast. Many poor breakfasts may be attributed to either failure to take the time to eat, or to not understanding the necessity of an adequate breakfast. Nationwide surveys report that a large number of adolescents and adults fail to receive the recommended 1/4 to 1/3 of their caloric and nutrient needs at breakfast. A basic breakfast pattern has been developed to aid in planning an adequate breakfast that will supply 1/4 to 1/3 of the calories and other nutrients needed each day. It includes fruit, cereal and/or egg, milk, bread and butter, yet it allows for a wide variation in menus. it is economical and can be easy to prepare. A breakfast of these foods insures one of less morning fatigue and better feeling during the morning and all day long. Studies show that breakfast is the most frequently missed meal. Many of the subjects who did not eat breakfast had a total day's intake that was classified as poor. Eating two meals a day failed to make up for the deficiency in nutrients. Breakfast consumption shows a direct relationship to the diet score, proof of the fact omitting breakfast is a poor start for the day. At the ages when an individual needs a larger intake of calories and nutrients, many times there is an actual decrease in the intake of nutritions food. The adolescents are noted for this inverse relationship between their nutritive needs and their actual intake. Galloway and Wilcox (1954), in a Utah study of school children, found that the breakfast meal did not furnish the recommended 1/4 to 1/3 of the day's allowance of calories and many of the other nutrients. The noon and evening meals furnished a larger percentage of most nutrients to their diets. The number of children in the study by Galloway, et al., (1954) was somewhat limited. To obtain a better picture of Utah school children's breakfast habits, 799 dietary records on file in the Foods and Nutrition Laboratory and 495 records collected this school year (1956-57) were evaluated. The objective of the present study was to determine the adequacy of breakfasts of approximately 1,000 school children.