To assess the association of breakfast intake with Mediterranean diet adherence, physical activity levels, obesity, selected cardiovascular risk markers and Fe status.

Cross-sectional study. BMI, body fat percentage and waist circumference were assessed. Physical activity was assessed using a pedometer and diet quality was evaluated by applying the KIDMED index. Blood tests to assess blood lipids, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, fasting glucose, serum Fe and ferritin, as well as Hb, were performed.

Primary-school children of the Troodos mountainous area in Cyprus.

Eighty-three Cypriot children (mean age 9·2 (sd 1·7) years).

Compared with breakfast skippers, regular breakfast eaters were 40 % more likely to have a KIDMED score higher by one point on average (OR=1·41; 95 % CI 1·08, 1·84) after accounting for obesity levels and other confounders. Breakfast skippers, on the other hand, were by about 14 % more likely to have a body fat percentage value higher by one unit, as well as higher values for both BMI and waist circumference. The relationship was significantly strengthened when combining body fat percentage and waist circumference into a composite variable (OR=0·20; 95 % CI 0·06, 0·69). Fasting glucose was inversely correlated to breakfast intake in descriptive analyses, whereas serum Fe was positively correlated to breakfast intake after considering age, gender and diet quality. The latter relationship disappeared, however, after considering physical activity levels.

Cypriot children who take breakfast regularly exhibit a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet and have higher serum Fe concentrations and lower BMI, waist circumference, body fat percentage and fasting glucose levels, compared with children who skip breakfast. Public health professionals, educators and parents should prioritize on actions that will motivate children to regularly eat breakfast.

Breakfast has been linked to several aspects of health, yet breakfast skipping is rampant across the globe. Studies in India have focused mostly on children. Hence the present study examined breakfast behaviour across different age and gender groups.

Cross-sectional sample, purposive sampling. Nutrient intakes of the participants derived from 24 h dietary recall and 3 d breakfast record data were compared with RDA values prescribed by the Indian Council of Medical Research using Student's t test, with P < 0·05 taken to indicate significance.

Mumbai, India.

Participants (n 1027) aged 8 years and above.

Nutritional adequacy of the breakfast meal and that of the day's diet were the main outcome measures. Eighty-one per cent of the participants had a nutritionally inadequate breakfast. Intakes of Fe and dietary fibre were notably low. Consumption of just milk or milk plus a milk food-based drink among schoolchildren (49 %) and increased breakfast skipping among adolescents (37 %) were seen.

The study identifies both irregularities and/or nutritional inadequacies with respect to the breakfast meal. Age- and gender-specific challenges in breakfast behaviour need to be addressed. Development of ‘nutrient-dense’ breakfast foods that can be prepared easily, school breakfast programmes and education on the importance of breakfast are the needs of the hour.