Rationale & Objectives
To identify factors influencing breakfast habits in European adolescents.
Materials & Methods
The Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) is a school based study. In 2006-2007, 3546 adolescents, 12,5-17,49 years of age, in ten European cities responded to questions about breakfast habits and determinants about eating behavior. Logistic regression and descriptive percentage are used for the analyses.
Results & Findings
66% of boys and 58% of girls regularly consume breakfast. Boys whose parents support them to eat healthy are more likely to consume breakfast (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.43-0.85). Girls whose peers eat healthy are more likely to consume breakfast (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.51-0.91). Hunger (59%), taste (57%), health (48%) and parents (45%) are the most important factors influencing adolescents’ food choices at breakfast.
Conclusions
Parents’ and peers’ influences should be considered in the development and testing of intervention strategies.