title: The influence of family structure on breakfast habits among adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Regular breakfast habits are important for the health and well-being of young people. The family is an important setting for developing regular breakfast habits. The objectives of the present study are to study the association between family structure and the regularity of breakfast habits among children and adolescents, and to analyse whether such potential association is modified by gender.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are from the Danish contribution to the international study entitled Health Behaviour in School aged Children, 2006. Participants are school children aged 11, 13 and 15 drawn from a random sample of Danish schools. The response rate was 88.8%, n = 6,269. Family structure was categorized into traditional family, single-parent family and reconstructed family. Irregular breakfast habits (IBH) were defined as having breakfast 0-1 times per week.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses of the total population show an increased, significant odds ratio (OR) of 1.56 for IBH among children from single-parent families. Among children from reconstructed families, an insignificant OR of 1.27 was observed. Further, the results suggest that girls living in a reconstructed family may also have an increased risk of IBH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The breakfast habits of adolescent boys and girls are influenced by family structure.
authors.affiliation: Statens Institut for Folkesundhed, Syddansk Universitet, Øster Farimagsgade 5 A, Copenhagen K, Denmark.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.forename: Trine Pagh
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Charlotte Riebeling
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Meilstrup
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D020954:Single-Parent Family / Q000523:psychology*