Associations between deprivation, attitudes towards eating breakfast and breakfast eating behaviours in 9-11-year-olds.
OBJECTIVE
To examine school-level relationships between deprivation and breakfast eating behaviours (breakfast skipping and the healthfulness of foods consumed) in 9-11-year-old schoolchildren and to examine whether attitudes towards eating breakfast mediated these relationships.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
One hundred and eleven primary schools in Wales.


METHODS
Year 5 and 6 pupils within the 111 primary schools. Measures were completed by 4314 children. Analysis was conducted at the group (school) level, with each school representing one group.


RESULTS
Deprivation was positively associated with breakfast skipping and consumption of 'unhealthy' items (i.e. sweet snacks, crisps) for breakfast. A significant negative association was found between deprivation and consumption of 'healthy' items (i.e. fruit, bread, cereal, milk). Deprivation was significantly inversely associated with attitudes towards eating breakfast. The relationships between deprivation and (1) breakfast skipping and (2) consumption of 'healthy' items for breakfast were mediated by attitudes towards eating breakfast. The hypothesis that attitudes mediated the relationship between deprivation and consumption of 'unhealthy' breakfast items was unsupported.


CONCLUSIONS
Deprivation is associated with adverse breakfast eating behaviours amongst children aged 9-11 years, in terms of breakfast skipping and the quality of breakfasts consumed. Socio-economic differences in attitudes towards eating breakfast are apparent amongst this age group, and appear to relate to social gradients in breakfast eating behaviours. Research is needed to examine the causal nature of these trends and to elucidate factors underlying the development of socio-economic differences in eating-related cognitions.
Moore
Graham F
GF
Cardiff Institute of Society, Health and Ethics, Cardiff University, 53 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK. MooreG@cf.ac.uk
Tapper
Katy
K
Murphy
Simon
S
Lynch
Rebecca
R
Raisanen
Larry
L
Pimm
Claire
C
Moore
Laurence
L
D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires