Breakfast and lunch meal skipping patterns among fourth-grade children from selected public schools in urban, suburban, and rural maryland.
The objective of this study was to describe breakfast and lunch consumption patterns of fourth-grade students from selected public schools in Maryland and how they differ by geographic location. Data were collected from a sample of 540 fourth-grade public school children (46% male, 62% white; mean age=9 years) from three geographically distinct regions of Maryland (30% rural, 30% suburban, and 40% urban). Data on breakfast and lunch consumption were collected using an in-classroom questionnaire. chi(2) tests were used to compare skipping meal behavior by geographic location. Twenty percent of fourth-grade students reported skipping breakfast and/or lunch at least three times per week. Urban students were more than twice as likely to skip breakfast and to eat school-prepared meals compared with suburban and rural students. Dietitians in all regions need to explore new ways to encourage regular meal consumption among students in their schools.
Gross
Susan M
SM
Morgan State University, 9 Blake Court, Baltimore, MD 21136, USA. sgrossphd@hotmail.com
Bronner
Yvonne
Y
Welch
Claudette
C
Dewberry-Moore
Natalie
N
Paige
David M
DM
D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002669:Child Welfare; D003710:Demography; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012423:Rural Health; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018881:Suburban Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health