Abstract
Introduction: Breakfast plays an important role in children’s eating habits, contributing to the maintenance of a balanced and healthy diet, essential for their growth and development, with numerous benefits. On the other hand, its omission brings harm to health and well-being.
Purpose: To evaluate and understand breakfast habits, regarding frequency, place and composition, as well as to understand the correlation of these factors with nutritional status, according to the Body Mass Index.
Material and Methods: In the scope of the School Program “Missão Continente” carried out during the school year 2021/2022, the anthropometric data collection took place in March and April 2022, as well as the application of the questionnaire related to the eating habits, with questions about the frequency, composition and place related to the breakfast. Data were processed using the statistical program SPSS version 27.0, with descriptive analysis produced by Microsoft Excel® 2021. Bibliographic data collection through the platforms: PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar.
Results/Discussion: It was found that children who did not eat breakfast daily were pre-obese and overweight. The meal in question was mainly homemade and composed of dairy products, cereals, bread and breakfast products, with no changes in nutritional status.
Conclusion: The factors underlying breakfast habits should not be underestimated, and greater care should be taken regarding frequency, location and composition for the sake of children’s health.
Keywords: Breakfast, Children, Obesity, Overweight, Frequency, Place, Composition