Why Breakfast should be an important meal among school children life?

Document Type : Review Article

Author

Deralakatte

Abstract

School age is nutritionally important because it is the prime time to build up the body and store nutrients for the rapid growth. It is also active growing phase for the physical growth and the mental development of the child. Breakfast is a very potential, unique and acknowledged as an important meal for human health. The daily intake of breakfast is a major indicator for healthy living and better quality of breakfast is essential for children, adolescents to hold the fitness. Overall it brings the changes in metabolism, improvement in the diet quality, good nutrient choices, which influences children’s good health and food habits throughout the life peculiarly early development. According to standard nutritional recommendations an idealized breakfast should contain 20 to 35% of daily energy, and this should be obtained from three food groups lie milk and milk products, cereals specifically whole grain and unrefined, fresh fruits and fresh juices without mixing sugar. Scientific evidences have proved that skipping breakfast leads to various health problems and those who have skipped breakfast had comparatively higher rates of mortality, high levels of cholesterol, and changes in the healthy behaviours, changes in the healthy weight as compared to regular breakfast eaters. Hence a healthy breakfast is requires to schoolchildren which provides essential nutrients for their activities and it should be correlated with improving general nutritional status.

Keywords