title: Skipping breakfast and prevalence of overweight and obesity in Asian and Pacific regions: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In Western countries, skipping breakfast is associated with a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. This meta-analysis aimed to determine if the same relationship exists in Asian and Pacific regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search was performed for observational studies using a cross-sectional design that examined the relationship between frequency of eating breakfast and overweight or obesity. Odds ratios (ORs) for overweight or obesity were pooled with a variance-based method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nineteen studies (93,108 total participants and 19,270 overweight or obese cases) were included. The pooled OR [95% confidence intervals (CI)] of overweight or obesity for the lowest vs. highest category of breakfast frequency was 1.75 [1.57 to 1.95] (P<0.001). Between-study heterogeneity in the association's strength was highly significant (I-squared=36.4%, P<0.001), although a positive OR was shown in all but one included study. However, no study characteristics could be identified to explain the heterogeneity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis suggests that a positive association between skipping breakfast and overweight and obesity is globally observed regardless of cultural diversity among countries. Promoting the eating of breakfast in all populations may be beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tsukuba Institute of Clinical Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Chika
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Horikawa
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yachi
authors.forename: Yoriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Heianza
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hirasawa
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ibe
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimano
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Hirohito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sone
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010139:Pacific Islands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence