Table 2 presents the relative risk ratio of skipping sometimes, often, and always compared to never skipping breakfast, according to demographic characteristics. The relative risk ratio of sometimes skipping compared to never skipping breakfast was 1.

Students in grade 10—12 had a 2. Students living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had 1. Students living in inner regional areas had 1. When exploring the likelihood of skipping versus never skipping breakfast among males and females separately see Tables 3 and 4 , results show a steeper grade level gradient among females compared to males.

Females in grade 10—12 had 2. The relative risk ratio of sometimes 2. There were no clear differences in the likelihood of skipping breakfast by socioeconomic disadvantage or geographical remoteness between females and males.

Encouragingly, the majority of students reported never skipping breakfast. However, about 1 in 3 students reported skipping breakfast sometimes or often, and 1 in 10 reported skipping breakfast every day. Although it is possible that our results, in part, reflect an increase in the prevalence of breakfast skipping over time, it is important to consider differences in how breakfast consumption in previous studies was measured, how breakfast skipping was defined, as well as sample differences.

Although population weighted, as common with such survey methodology, the sample was biased towards the higher socioeconomic [ 26 ]. The current study measured habitual breakfast consumption i.

Prevalence of breakfast skipping reported in the current study exceeds that of international evidence also. Authors highlighted great variability in breakfast skipping prevalence across studies however, ranging from 0.

Aligned with previous research [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], results from the current study indicate breakfast skipping was more prevalent among females, students in senior grades i. Analyses disaggregated by gender add to existing evidence by highlighting that grade level gradients in breakfast skipping were more marked among females than males.

Indeed, breakfast skipping was most prevalent among females in grade 10—12, with almost 1 in 5 skipping breakfast every day. Conversely, there were no clear differences in the likelihood of skipping breakfast by socioeconomic disadvantage or geographical remoteness between females and males.

Findings highlight several key considerations for policy and practice that seeks to promote breakfast consumption. Provision of breakfast to students in education settings, indeed school feeding programs more broadly, are implemented for a variety of purposes. In low- and middle-income countries, education is typically non-mandatory and thus school feeding seeks to promote school attendance.

In high-income countries including Australia, school breakfast programs aim to ensure all students have access to a nutritious breakfast with the goal of promoting engagement with learning and ultimately improving academic outcomes.

Importantly, findings provide insight into the magnitude of the problem. That is, the number and proportion of school-aged children and adolescents who do not regularly eat breakfast every day and may benefit from some form of support or intervention to promote breakfast consumption.

Despite considerable investment in school breakfast provision across the country see for example [ 29 , 30 ] , results indicate a substantial proportion of children and adolescents regularly skip breakfast, suggesting alternative supports are required.

Although the influence of socioeconomic disadvantage is clear, evidently it is not the sole driver of breakfast skipping. Rather, a variety of factors are at play as it is not only students living in the poorest areas who skip breakfast. School breakfast programs are generally targeted at socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.

Findings from international research on the impacts of school breakfast programs on school attendance, student wellbeing, academic performance, nutritional intake, and physical health, are mixed [ 15 , 16 , 17 ].

What is clear is that promoting attendance at school breakfast programs, particularly attendance among the students who might need it most i. students who skip breakfast , is a challenge [ 31 ]. Together, evidence suggests the need to explore drivers of breakfast skipping, which are likely to differ across population sub-groups, to improve strategies to promote breakfast consumption.

Schools and education systems more broadly have the potential to provide children and young people with environments that nurture healthy habits. When it comes to nutrition including breakfast consumption, this could extend beyond meal provision to education or health promotion efforts focused on shifting attitudes toward breakfast consumption.

A key strength of this study lies in that it is, to our knowledge, the first to explore breakfast skipping prevalence among a large, population-wide sample of students in Australia.

While the analysis sample is large, the results reported are limited to children and adolescents attending government public schools. In South Australia, about two thirds of children and adolescents attend government schools and these students are generally more socioeconomically disadvantaged than those attending non-government schools [ 32 , 33 ].

As such, our results are likely to over-represent the more disadvantaged children and adolescents in South Australia. Similarly, when generalising these results to Australia overall, the prevalence data reported in this study are likely to over-represent the more disadvantaged students.

The study lacked information regarding breakfast content and reasons behind breakfast skipping that are important when considering implications for policy and practice.

For instance, some students who reported eating breakfast may consider a beverage or a sugar-filled snack to be their breakfast.

Although the objective of this study was to explore prevalence of breakfast consumption vs non-consumption, it is important to note that the percentage of children and adolescents who consumed a healthy, nutritious breakfast cannot be deduced from results.

As such, when considering the prevalence figures reported here they are likely to over-represent students consuming a breakfast that is healthy and nutritious.

Further, as mentioned, the reasons behind why students skipped breakfast may vary from lack of time in the morning, to food insecurity, to challenges surrounding body image. Strategies to promote breakfast consumption in light of each of these drivers would likely differ.

Additional information of this nature would allow investigation beyond breakfast skipping prevalence alone to explore how many and which students are not consuming a healthy breakfast, and why, both of which are important questions for future research.

The prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents appears considerably more prevalent than previous studies suggest. Building on existing research that has been limited by small, non-representative samples, findings from the current study suggest alternative supports are required to ensure all children and adolescents regularly eat breakfast.

To be effective, strategies to promote breakfast consumption need to be informed by an understanding of the drivers of breakfast skipping across population sub-groups.

Approval by an accredited research ethics committee is required to access the WEC data for research purposes. Access to data used in this study can be requested from the data custodian, the South Australian Department for Education DfE website www.

au or via email education. researchunit sa. Wesnes KA, Pincock C, Scholey A. Breakfast is associated with enhanced cognitive function in schoolchildren.

An internet based study. Article Google Scholar. Rampersaud G, Pereira M, Girard B, Adams J, Metzl J. Breakfast Habits, Nutritional Status, Body Weight, and Academic Performance in Children and Adolescents.

J Am Diet Assoc. Blondin SA, Anzman-Frasca S, Djang HC, Economos CD. Breakfast consumption and adiposity among children and adolescents: an updated review of the literature.

Pediatric Obesity. Article CAS Google Scholar. Lundqvist M, Ennab Vogel N, Levin L. Effects of eating breakfast on children and adolescents: A systematic review of potentially relevant outcome in economic evaluations.

Food Nutr Res. Lynch JW, Davey-Smith G. A Life Course Approach to Chronic Disease Epidemiology. Annu Rev Public Health.

Hertzman C, Boyce T. How Experience Gets Under the Skin to Create Gradients in Developmental Health. Monzani A, Ricotti R, Caputo M, Solito A, Archero F, Bellone S, et al.

A Systematic Review of the Association of Skipping Breakfast with Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents.

What Should We Better Investigate in the Future? Mullan B, Wong C, Kothe E, O'Moore K, Pickles K, Sainsbury K. An examination of the demographic predictors of adolescent breakfast consumption, content, and context. BMC Public Health.

Utter J, Scragg R, Mhurchu C, Schaaf D. At-Home Breakfast Consumption among New Zealand Children: Associations with Body Mass Index and Related Nutrition Behaviors. Brugman E, Meulmeester JF, Spee-Van Der Wekke A, Verloove-Vanhorick SP. Breakfast-skipping in children and young adolescents in The Netherlands.

Eur J Pub Health. Wijtzes A, Jansen W, Jaddoe VWV, Franco O, Hofman A, van Lenthe F, et al. PLoS One. Fayet-Moore F, Kim J, Sritharan N, Petocz P. Impact of Breakfast Skipping and Breakfast Choice on the Nutrient Intake and Body Mass Index of Australian Children.

Smith KJ, Blizzard L, McNaughton SA, Gall SL, Breslin MC, Wake M, et al. Skipping breakfast among 8—9 year old children is associated with teacher-reported but not objectively measured academic performance two years later. BMC Nutrition. Smith KJ, Breslin MC, McNaughton SA, Gall SL, Blizzard L, Venn AJ.

Skipping breakfast among Australian children and adolescents; findings from the —12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. Aust N Z J Public Health. Murphy S, Moore GF, Tapper K, Lynch R, Clarke R, Raisanen L, et al.

Free healthy breakfasts in primary schools: a cluster randomised controlled trial of a policy intervention in Wales, UK. Public Health Nutrition. Bernstein L, McLaughlin JE, Crepinsek MK, Daft LM. Evaluation of the School Breakfast Program Pilot Project: Final Report.

Nutrition Assistance Program Report Series Report no. Bartfeld J, Berger L, Men F, Chen Y. Access to the School Breakfast Program Is Associated with Higher Attendance and Test Scores among Elementary School Students. J Nutr.

Department of Agriculture. Action F. Magic Breakfast. London: National Schools Breakfast Programme: Food for Thought; Google Scholar. Gregory T, Lewkowicz A, Engelhardt D, Stringer A, Luddy S, Brinkman SA. Data Resource Profile: The South Australian Wellbeing and Engagement Collection WEC.

Int J Epidemiol. Gregory T, Brinkman S. Wellbeing and Engagement Collection WEC : History of the WEC in the South Australian school system and psychometric properties of the WEC survey instrument. Adelaide; Hoyland A, Dye L, Lawton CL. A systematic review of the effect of breakfast on the cognitive performance of children and adolescents.

Nutr Res Rev. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas SEIFA.

In: Australian Government, editor; Stata Statistical Software: Release StataCorp LLC: College Station; Pearson N, Biddle SJ, Gorely T. Family correlates of breakfast consumption among children and adolescents: A systematic review.

MacDonald F. Evaluation of the School Breakfast Clubs Program: Final Report. Victoria: Victoria University; Watson M, Velardo S, Drummond M. Perspectives of the key stakeholders of the KickStart for Kids school breakfast program.

Child Youth Serv Rev. Mhurchu C, Gorton D, Turley M, Jiang Y, Michie J, Maddison R, et al. J Epidemiol Community Health. Full time Equivalent Students data. Bonner C, Shepherd B. Losing the Game Report: State of our Schools in Sydney: Centre for Policy Development; Download references.

Telethon Kids Institute, the University of Western Australia, Ground Floor, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, , Australia.

Alanna Sincovich, Hero Moller, Mary Brushe, Sally A. School of Public Health, the University of Adelaide, Level 5, Rundle Mall Plaza, Adelaide, South Australia, , Australia.

Alanna Sincovich, Hero Moller, Lisa Smithers, Mary Brushe, Sally A. School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales, , Australia.

Robinson Research Institute, the University of Adelaide, Level 1, Helen Mayo North, 60 Frome Road, Adelaide, South Australia, , Australia. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Correspondence to Alanna Sincovich. This research used existing data that was collected as part of the WEC; an administrative data collection managed and governed by the South Australian DfE. According to DfE protocols, caregivers of students invited to participate in the WEC were provided with an information letter prior to the collection and were able to withdraw their child from participating if desired.

Students were then able to opt out of participating in the WEC, either before or at any point during their completion of the online survey.

These processes adhere to consent procedures required by DfE for their internal data collections. We conducted a secondary analysis of existing, de-identified WEC data with approval from the data custodians, the South Australian DfE. One important aspect of meal timing and following any number of healthy plans is that it really depends what and how much you eat, despite the timing.

For example, when we look at the dieters who lost weight eating a bigger breakfast, we should also pay attention to their breakfast choices.

The quality of the food is equally as, if not more, important as just eating breakfast alone. This is due to the impact that different breakfasts can have on your metabolism.

So simply eating any breakfast is not enough — it needs to be the right type of breakfast filled with healthy fat-burning foods that sets you up for a successful day. No matter which type of diet plan you choose, here are tips for sticking with a healthy diet:. Popular Nutrition Posts All Time This Week {position} Detox Your Liver: A 6-Step Liver Cleanse.

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Skipping meals can lead to nutritional deficiencies for several reasons. First, skipping a meal also means you're skipping out on the opportunity to nourish your body with the dozens of essential nutrients it needs to thrive, according to a study in Proceedings of the Nutrition Society about skipping breakfast.

Additionally, giving in to those refined-carb cravings after going too long without eating fills you up for a moment, but these foods lack the substance needed to nourish your body on a deeper level. While carbs are an essential part of the human diet, we should prioritize eating carbs such as whole grains, fruit, legumes and dairy over things like cookies, crackers and snack chips, which should be eaten in moderation.

Harrison says skipping meals could lead to both nausea and diarrhea, and you could even become constipated. According to the American Psychological Association , similar to when you're feeling anxious, the stress response released by the body when going too long between meals can irk the digestive system and make your bathroom trips unpredictable.

And if you're in a vicious cycle of skipping a meal and then binge eating, this will further thwart your digestion. Your body knows exactly how much it can handle, and listening to those hunger and fullness cues—along with eating fiber-rich plant foods and drinking plenty of water—will help you regain proper digestive habits.

According to a study in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders , dieting and skipping meals are strongly correlated with developing an eating disorder. Skipping a meal in order to consume fewer calories, whether out of guilt for something you ate earlier or because the food around you isn't "healthy enough," isn't just unhealthy for your brain but also for your mindset and body.

And ultimately, this could become life-threatening. Enjoyment is an important part of eating—we have taste buds for a reason, right? Food is a necessity, but it should also be pleasurable as well as nourishing.

Two practices that have been shown to have real, research-backed benefits for health and weight management are mindful eating and intuitive eating. Mindful eating encourages using all of your senses to enjoy your food. Instead of eating your lunch at your desk while in the middle of a project, set aside distractions and simply focus on enjoying the food you're eating and the nourishment it's providing.

Mindful eating is one aspect of intuitive eating , which takes an even more personal approach, encouraging you to ditch the diet mentality and instead trust your body to be your guide.

Intuitive eating encompasses listening to one's hunger and fullness cues, not restricting foods or food groups, enjoying eating and figuring out which foods work best with your body based on food preferences and how the food makes you feel like how it affects your energy and digestion. Your body works best when it gets the nourishment it requires.

This includes regularly feeding it what it needs to keep your energy levels up and your brain clear and focused. Skipping meals has been linked with several negative health consequences, including certain diseases, poor health measurements, eating disorders, low energy and anxiety.

If you're in the habit of skipping meals, work on getting into a healthier routine and get to know your body's hunger and fullness cues. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising.

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Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. By Lauren Wicks is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for food, wine, design and travel. Lauren Wicks. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines.

Reviewed by Dietitian Elizabeth Ward is a registered dietitian and award-winning nutrition communicator and writer. Reviewed by Dietitian Elizabeth Ward, M. In This Article View All. In This Article.

Low Energy. Mixed Up Hunger and Fullness Cues. Food Cravings. Nutrient Deficiencies. Irregular Digestion. Increased Risk of an Eating Disorder. Decreased Enjoyment of Food. On days with a skipped meal, the other two meals had extra calories to make up for it.

Each day, blood samples were collected frequently from 7 a. until 9 p. to measure hormone levels, glucose and insulin concentrations, and immune cell activity.

They found that people burned more calories over a hour period when they extended their overnight fast by skipping either lunch 41 more calories or dinner 91 more calories , compared with the three-meals-a-day schedule. These findings are in line with other studies on time-restricted eating.

They found no difference in hour glucose levels, insulin secretion or total physical activity between the three days. But glucose concentrations and markers of inflammation and insulin resistance were higher after lunch on breakfast-skipping days. People also oxidized more fat, meaning their bodies broke down more of their stored fat reserves, on days when they skipped breakfast.

That may sound like a good thing, but the researchers say it could have a downside. Courtney Peterson, assistant professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama Birmingham, says that more research is needed in order to know the bottom line on breakfast.

She led the study mentioned above, which found that eating an early dinner can boost calorie burn. The study also suggests that skipping breakfast or dinner might help people lose weight, since they burned more calories on those days.

Skipping meals and other types of intermittent fasting may not be realistic for most people, Peterson says—and it does have the potential to backfire if it triggers unhealthy snacking or overeating later on. Contact us at letters time. By Amanda MacMillan. May 22, PM EDT.

Breakfast is associated with enhanced cognitive function in schoolchildren. An internet based study. Article Google Scholar. Rampersaud G, Pereira M, Girard B, Adams J, Metzl J. Breakfast Habits, Nutritional Status, Body Weight, and Academic Performance in Children and Adolescents.

J Am Diet Assoc. Blondin SA, Anzman-Frasca S, Djang HC, Economos CD. Breakfast consumption and adiposity among children and adolescents: an updated review of the literature. Pediatric Obesity. Article CAS Google Scholar. Lundqvist M, Ennab Vogel N, Levin L. Effects of eating breakfast on children and adolescents: A systematic review of potentially relevant outcome in economic evaluations.

Food Nutr Res. Lynch JW, Davey-Smith G. A Life Course Approach to Chronic Disease Epidemiology. Annu Rev Public Health. Hertzman C, Boyce T. How Experience Gets Under the Skin to Create Gradients in Developmental Health. Monzani A, Ricotti R, Caputo M, Solito A, Archero F, Bellone S, et al.

A Systematic Review of the Association of Skipping Breakfast with Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents. What Should We Better Investigate in the Future?

Mullan B, Wong C, Kothe E, O'Moore K, Pickles K, Sainsbury K. An examination of the demographic predictors of adolescent breakfast consumption, content, and context. BMC Public Health. Utter J, Scragg R, Mhurchu C, Schaaf D. At-Home Breakfast Consumption among New Zealand Children: Associations with Body Mass Index and Related Nutrition Behaviors.

Brugman E, Meulmeester JF, Spee-Van Der Wekke A, Verloove-Vanhorick SP. Breakfast-skipping in children and young adolescents in The Netherlands. Eur J Pub Health. Wijtzes A, Jansen W, Jaddoe VWV, Franco O, Hofman A, van Lenthe F, et al.

PLoS One. Fayet-Moore F, Kim J, Sritharan N, Petocz P. Impact of Breakfast Skipping and Breakfast Choice on the Nutrient Intake and Body Mass Index of Australian Children.

Smith KJ, Blizzard L, McNaughton SA, Gall SL, Breslin MC, Wake M, et al. Skipping breakfast among 8—9 year old children is associated with teacher-reported but not objectively measured academic performance two years later.

BMC Nutrition. Smith KJ, Breslin MC, McNaughton SA, Gall SL, Blizzard L, Venn AJ. Skipping breakfast among Australian children and adolescents; findings from the —12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. Aust N Z J Public Health. Murphy S, Moore GF, Tapper K, Lynch R, Clarke R, Raisanen L, et al.

Free healthy breakfasts in primary schools: a cluster randomised controlled trial of a policy intervention in Wales, UK. Public Health Nutrition. Bernstein L, McLaughlin JE, Crepinsek MK, Daft LM.

Evaluation of the School Breakfast Program Pilot Project: Final Report. Nutrition Assistance Program Report Series Report no. Bartfeld J, Berger L, Men F, Chen Y. Access to the School Breakfast Program Is Associated with Higher Attendance and Test Scores among Elementary School Students. J Nutr.

Department of Agriculture. Action F. Magic Breakfast. London: National Schools Breakfast Programme: Food for Thought; Google Scholar. Gregory T, Lewkowicz A, Engelhardt D, Stringer A, Luddy S, Brinkman SA. Data Resource Profile: The South Australian Wellbeing and Engagement Collection WEC.

Int J Epidemiol. Gregory T, Brinkman S. Wellbeing and Engagement Collection WEC : History of the WEC in the South Australian school system and psychometric properties of the WEC survey instrument.

Adelaide; Hoyland A, Dye L, Lawton CL. A systematic review of the effect of breakfast on the cognitive performance of children and adolescents.

Nutr Res Rev. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas SEIFA. In: Australian Government, editor; Stata Statistical Software: Release StataCorp LLC: College Station; Pearson N, Biddle SJ, Gorely T. Family correlates of breakfast consumption among children and adolescents: A systematic review.

MacDonald F. Evaluation of the School Breakfast Clubs Program: Final Report. Victoria: Victoria University; Watson M, Velardo S, Drummond M. Perspectives of the key stakeholders of the KickStart for Kids school breakfast program. Child Youth Serv Rev. Mhurchu C, Gorton D, Turley M, Jiang Y, Michie J, Maddison R, et al.

J Epidemiol Community Health. Full time Equivalent Students data. Bonner C, Shepherd B. Losing the Game Report: State of our Schools in Sydney: Centre for Policy Development; Download references. Telethon Kids Institute, the University of Western Australia, Ground Floor, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, , Australia.

Alanna Sincovich, Hero Moller, Mary Brushe, Sally A. School of Public Health, the University of Adelaide, Level 5, Rundle Mall Plaza, Adelaide, South Australia, , Australia.

Alanna Sincovich, Hero Moller, Lisa Smithers, Mary Brushe, Sally A. School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales, , Australia. Robinson Research Institute, the University of Adelaide, Level 1, Helen Mayo North, 60 Frome Road, Adelaide, South Australia, , Australia.

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Correspondence to Alanna Sincovich. This research used existing data that was collected as part of the WEC; an administrative data collection managed and governed by the South Australian DfE.

According to DfE protocols, caregivers of students invited to participate in the WEC were provided with an information letter prior to the collection and were able to withdraw their child from participating if desired.

Students were then able to opt out of participating in the WEC, either before or at any point during their completion of the online survey. These processes adhere to consent procedures required by DfE for their internal data collections.

We conducted a secondary analysis of existing, de-identified WEC data with approval from the data custodians, the South Australian DfE. Research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.

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Reprints and permissions. Sincovich, A. et al. Prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents: a cross-sectional population level study. BMC Pediatr 22 , Download citation. Received : 06 August Accepted : 13 April Published : 23 April Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:.

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Download PDF. Research Open access Published: 23 April Prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents: a cross-sectional population level study Alanna Sincovich 1 , 2 , Hero Moller 1 , 2 , Lisa Smithers 2 , 3 , Mary Brushe 1 , 2 , Zohra S.

Lassi 4 , Sally A. Abstract Background Interventions to promote breakfast consumption are a popular strategy to address early life inequalities. Results Overall, Conclusions Breakfast skipping among children and adolescents appears considerably more prevalent than previous research suggests.

Background Breakfast consumption is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle, improving nutrient intake and providing energy for physical and cognitive function [ 1 , 2 ].

Methods Data sources This cross-sectional study used data for children and adolescents in grades 4—12 from the Wellbeing and Engagement Collection WEC in South Australia [ 20 , 21 ].

Measures Breakfast skipping Breakfast consumption was measured within the Health and Wellbeing Out of School domain of the WEC. Demographic characteristics Demographic characteristics used in this study included gender, school grade, socioeconomic status, and geographical remoteness.

Statistical approach WEC data and enrolment records were linked by the South Australian Department for Education. Results Demographic characteristics of the analysis sample were similar to that of the overall cohort, as described in Supplementary Table 1.

Implications Findings highlight several key considerations for policy and practice that seeks to promote breakfast consumption. Limitations A key strength of this study lies in that it is, to our knowledge, the first to explore breakfast skipping prevalence among a large, population-wide sample of students in Australia.

Conclusions The prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents appears considerably more prevalent than previous studies suggest. Availability of data and materials Approval by an accredited research ethics committee is required to access the WEC data for research purposes.

Abbreviations ARIA: Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia CI: Confidence interval DfE: Department for Education RRR: Relative risk ratio SEIFA IRSAD: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas - Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage WEC: Wellbeing and Engagement Collection.

References Wesnes KA, Pincock C, Scholey A. Article Google Scholar Rampersaud G, Pereira M, Girard B, Adams J, Metzl J. Article Google Scholar Blondin SA, Anzman-Frasca S, Djang HC, Economos CD.

Article CAS Google Scholar Lundqvist M, Ennab Vogel N, Levin L. Article Google Scholar Lynch JW, Davey-Smith G. Article Google Scholar Hertzman C, Boyce T.

Article Google Scholar Monzani A, Ricotti R, Caputo M, Solito A, Archero F, Bellone S, et al. Article Google Scholar Mullan B, Wong C, Kothe E, O'Moore K, Pickles K, Sainsbury K. Article Google Scholar Utter J, Scragg R, Mhurchu C, Schaaf D.

Article Google Scholar Brugman E, Meulmeester JF, Spee-Van Der Wekke A, Verloove-Vanhorick SP. Article Google Scholar Wijtzes A, Jansen W, Jaddoe VWV, Franco O, Hofman A, van Lenthe F, et al.

Article Google Scholar Fayet-Moore F, Kim J, Sritharan N, Petocz P. Article Google Scholar Smith KJ, Blizzard L, McNaughton SA, Gall SL, Breslin MC, Wake M, et al.

Article Google Scholar Murphy S, Moore GF, Tapper K, Lynch R, Clarke R, Raisanen L, et al. Article Google Scholar Bernstein L, McLaughlin JE, Crepinsek MK, Daft LM. Article Google Scholar U.

Google Scholar Gregory T, Lewkowicz A, Engelhardt D, Stringer A, Luddy S, Brinkman SA. Article Google Scholar Australian Bureau of Statistics. Google Scholar Australian Bureau of Statistics. Google Scholar Pearson N, Biddle SJ, Gorely T. Labels can be confusing; when it comes to cereal, for example, many often over-fill larger bowls with more than the amount recommended in the nutritional information.

Choosing a good breakfast option and being mindful when it comes to portion size can make a huge difference to the calorie and sugar intakes at the start of your day. Registered nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed, as part of Wren Kitchen's 'Behind The Label' campaign, shares six tips for portion control to stop over-eating.

Foods like beans, hummus, egg, salmon, nuts, seeds or nut butters can help you get the nutrients you need to start the day and feel satisfied at the end of a meal.

This will boost your fibre and nutrients intake at a vital time, meaning you're fuller for longer and stop snacking on those empty calories. By simply using your hand as a guide, you can see roughly how much you should be eating.

Use the palm of your hand to measure how much protein you need and your thumb roughly a tablespoon for measuring healthy fats. A fist size is the ideal portion for carbohydrates and vegetables.

It's so important as the first meal of the day, so try to dedicate time to eat and appreciate it. Being mindful may help you to feel fuller and more satisfied after a meal. Choosing a small bowl of low-sugar cereal and adding oats, fruit and yogurt is better than a big bowl of high-sugar cereal.

The oat milk debate, debunked. Should we all be drinking matcha lattes now? Bryony Deery on the real power of Pilates.