Breakfast consumption and its influencing factors among urban elementary and middle school students in Shandong province

  Objective  To examine the status and influencing factors of breakfast consumption among urban elementary and middle school students in Shandong province and to provide evidences for developing intervention strategies.

  Methods  Using stratified cluster random sampling, we recruited 6 161 urban elementary and middle school students in 3 cities of Shandong province and conducted a questionnaire survey among the students in 2017.

  Results  The self-reported rate of having breakfast every day was 79.29% among all the students; there was no gender difference in the rate but the rate was significantly higher among the primary school students than that among the middle school students (84.98% vs. 75.34%, χ² = 84.06; P < 0.001); whereas, the middle school students reported higher rates of having breakfast occasionally, basically or absolutely skipping breakfast compared to the elementary school students. The main influencing factors for breakfast consumption included residential city, whether living with parents, maternal education, paternal occupation, and the score of knowledge about breakfast in the students.

  Conclusion  The self-reported rate of having breakfast every day among urban elementary and middle school students in Shandong province is lower than that of national average and relevant interventions should be promoted in the students.