Breakfast habits among primary school students in poor rural areas

Objective To investigate the breakfast frequency and consumption among primary students in poor rural areas of China,and to provide basic information for developing nutrition education and intervention strategies.Methods Randomized multi-stage clustering sampling method was used in the study.A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2 939 students from 15 primary schools in poor rural areas of five counties.Results The proportion of primary students reporting breakfast skipping was 23.2%.Grains(66.6%),followed by milk (35.6%),vegetables (33.3%),meat/eggs/fish (29.5%),beans(27.7%),and fruits (19.3%) were the most frequently eaten foods.About 75.3% of primary students had poor breakfast nutrition quality.Logistic regression analysis showed that boys,students in grade 4 and 5,students from Yunnan Province,and those with parents not working at present had lower rate of breakfast habit;students in grade 3 and 4,from Yunnan Province,and those boarding school students had lower breakfast quality.Conclusion The frequency and quality of breakfast need further improvement among primary school students in poor rural areas of China.It is important to educate students and parents about the importance of eating breakfast.