Breakfast consumption and influencing factors of primary and middle school students in rural poor areas of Guizhou Province / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To understand the current situation of breakfast consumption and its influencing factors in primary and middle school students in a poor rural area in a city in Guizhou Province, and to provide scientific basis for child nutrition education and intervention.@*Methods@#A stratified cluster sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey of breakfast behavior and influencing factors among 2 833 students from 3 primary schools and 3 middle schools in a area of Guizhou Province from April to June 2019.@*Results@#The most frequently consumed breakfast was rice noodle products(71.66%), followed by fresh vegetables(45.89%), milk(35.55%), meat/egg/fish(29.33%), beans(19.52%), and fresh fruits(18.74%). The proportion of having breakfast everyday among elementary and middle school students who was 62.97%, and having breakfast 4-6 days peer week was 22.80%, and 14.23% with ≤3 days peer week, and the proportion of boys who ate breakfast every day(65.07%) was higher than girls(61.00%)(χ2=10.01, P<0.05). The proportion of low quality breakfast was 71.87%, and girls(73.68%) were higher than boys(69.94%)(χ2=9.29, P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that grade of school, boarding school, and sleep quality are all influencing factors for whether to eat breakfast every day; grade of school, whether to stay at school were factors that affect breakfast quality(P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#The frequency and quality of breakfast need more improvement among middle and primary school students in a poor rural area of a city in Guizhou Province. Students, parents, and teachers should be educated on nutrition to promote healthy eating and sleeping habits and improve student health.