Children who skip breakfast may not be getting recommended nutrients

A study by researchers at King's College London has found that children who skip breakfast regularly may not be consuming the daily amounts of key nutrients for growth and development that are recommended by the UK government. Children who ate breakfast every day were deemed to have overall superior nutritional profiles compared to those who didn't. While the study was unable to identify a causal link, these children were found to have higher daily intakes of key nutrients such as folate (important for the development of genetic material), calcium, iron and iodine (key in the development of thyroid function) than children who skipped breakfast. The team of researchers used food diaries collected for the National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling programme between 2008 and 2012 from a group of 802 children aged 4 - 10 years and 884 children aged 11 - 18 years. Nutrient intake was assessed using a food composition databank from the Department of Health. Breakfast was considered as consumption of over 100 calories between 6 and 9am.