School breakfast and body mass index: a longitudinal observational study of middle school students.

Excessive weight gain is not associated with regular consumption of school breakfasts among middle school students.

This research work was carried out to determine the correlation between breakfast patterns and weight status in middle school students. Researchers studied the breakfast patterns of middle school students drawn from 12 different schools from fifth to seventh grade. The participants were assigned into six groups: double breakfast eaters, regular home eaters, regular school eaters, inconsistent school eaters, inconsistent home eaters, and frequent skippers. The weight of all the participants was measured regularly throughout the course of the study.

Researchers observed a higher incidence of weight gain and childhood obesity among the frequent skippers than in the double breakfast group. The annual weight changes of the subjects in the double breakfast group were observed to be similar with that of students in other groups in this study. The findings of this study reveal that regular consumption of school breakfasts contributes positively to a healthy weight in pre-adolescents.