Breakfast Eating Habits and Lifestyle Behaviors among Saudi Primary School Children Attending Public Versus Private Schools
Open Access
- 11 February 2021
- Vol. 8 (2), 134
- https://doi.org/10.3390/children8020134
Abstract
We investigated breakfast eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among Saudi school children attending public versus private schools. A random sample of 1149 children (girls: 54.4%) from public and private schools was selected from elementary schools using the multistage stratified cluster method. Measurements included body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and self-reported questionnaires filled by the child’s parents. There was no significant (p = 0.44) difference in the prevalence of breakfast intake between children attending public (20.6%) versus private (19.4%) schools. However, there was a gender by school type interactions in breakfast intake frequency, as boys in private but not in public schools had significantly (p = 0.006) higher (26.3%) daily breakfast intake than girls (13.3%). Over 56% of the children ate and drank from the school canteen, and impacting factors on children’s choices were children’s desire, food taste, and parental influence. More parents of children in private (12.1%) than in public (6.9%) schools were satisfied with the food in the school canteen. Younger age (aOR = 0.889, 95% CI = 0.815–0.970, p = 0.008), higher father education (aOR = 1.380, 95% CI = 1.130–1.686, p = 0.002), family income (aOR = 1.227, 95% CI = 1.005–1.498, p = 0.044), and insufficient sleep duration (aOR = 0.740, 95% CI = 0.553–0.990, p = 0.042) were significantly associated with being in a private school. Furthermore, no significant differences, when adjusted for socio-demographic factors, appeared in breakfast intake or overweight/obesity relative to school type. Interventions to improve daily breakfast consumption and lifestyle behaviors of Saudi children are warranted.This publication has 46 references indexed in Scilit:
- Association of breakfast intake with obesity, dietary and physical activity behavior among urban school-aged adolescents in Delhi, India: results of a cross-sectional studyBMC Public Health, 2012
- Extended international (IOTF) body mass index cut‐offs for thinness, overweight and obesityPediatric Obesity, 2012
- Associations of Television Viewing With Eating Behaviors in the 2009 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children StudyArchives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2012
- Obesity-Related Factors in Turkish School ChildrenThe Scientific World Journal, 2012
- Physical activity, sedentary behaviors and dietary habits among Saudi adolescents relative to age, gender and regionInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2011
- Dietary behaviors, physical activity and sedentary lifestyle associated with overweight and obesity, and their socio-demographic correlates, among Pakistani primary school childrenInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2011
- Breakfast consumption and its socio-demographic and lifestyle correlates in schoolchildren in 41 countries participating in the HBSC studyInternational Journal of Public Health, 2009
- Overweight in school-aged children and its relationship with demographic and lifestyle factors: results from the WHO-Collaborative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) StudyInternational Journal of Public Health, 2009
- Breakfast Habits, Nutritional Status, Body Weight, and Academic Performance in Children and AdolescentsJournal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005
- Prevalence of nutritional anaemia among primary school girls in Riyadh City, Saudi ArabiaInternational Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 1999