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Community Corner

Make Time for Breakfast

A healthy breakfast gets kids off to a good start and on the right path to healthy futures.

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. One in three American children are overweight or obese; that's 23 million children and teenagers between ages 2 and 19 that are at a higher risk of developing dangerous health conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes -- chronic diseases that were previously only observed in adults.  

A simple step to preventing childhood obesity is making sure your kids eat a healthy breakfast every morning. Studies suggest that children and adults that eat breakfast on a regular basis tend to have lower body mass indexes. (Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure that generalizes whether a person is a healthy weight for his or her height and is used to determine the risk of being overweight or obese.)

The research is particularly convincing for young girls, who are more likely to skip breakfast to try to cut back on calories either to prevent weight gain or to try to lose weight. In reality, breakfast skippers tend to have higher BMI's and to eat more calories in a day than those who eat several evenly spaced meals throughout the day. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that breakfast consumption has declined over recent decades and that as children get older, they are less likely to eat breakfast. Parents can set a good example for their kids by eating a morning meal; give your metabolism a jump start first thing in the morning and your kids are more likely to follow in your footsteps. 

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Not hungry for breakfast or too busy to eat something healthy in the morining? Have a small glass of lowfat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice before leaving for work or school and pack something to eat later on in the morning. Plan your breakfast the night before if you're too busy to prepare something in the morning.

If your child's school has a School Breakfast Program, encourage them to participate. According to the Food Research Action Center, several studies have shown that participation in School Breakfast Programs is associated with better standardized test scores, better attendance rates, and improved cognitive function, attention, memory, and comprehension. If lower BMI's and higher test scores aren't convincing enough, children that participate in school breakfast also tend to have more adequate overall intake of dietary fiber and important nutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium, folate, and protein than those who do not participate. 

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The American Institute for Cancer Research recently published a helpful guide for eating a better breakfast. Some suggestions include starting out with a fruit and yogurt smoothie in the morning if you're used to skipping breakfast or making a batch of homemade fruit and whole grain muffins, freezing and defrosting them individually as needed, if you're used to grabbing a store-bought pastry with your morning cup of coffee.

While there is a place for almost anything in moderation in your diet, try to limit breakfasts that include processed meats (such as sausage) and refined carbohydrates (such as pastries and cereals with added sugars) and focus more on including whole grain breads and cereals, lowfat dairy, and fruit. If breakfast foods don't interest you, there's no reason you can't have a cup of vegetable soup with whole grain bread or crackers (watch the sodium in both) a bean burrito, some mixed nuts with dried fruit, or any other non-traditional yet nutritious breakfast.

There are plenty of excuses to skip breakfast, but even more reasons to make it a priority every morning before work and school. As you get used to the back-to-school morning routine, be sure to include a nutritious breakfast everyday.

Sources:

American Institute for Cancer Research. "The New American Plate for Breakfast." http://preventcancer.aicr.org/site/DocServer/E7B-BRW.pdf?docID=1542

National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. "Healthier Kids, Brighter Futures." http://www.healthierkidsbrighterfutures.org

Food Research and Action Center. "Breakfast for Learning." http://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/breakfastforlearning1.pdf

International Food information Council Foundation. "Breakfast and Health." http://www.foodinsight.org/Content/6/IFIC%20Brkfast%20Review%20FINAL.pdf

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