Breakfast and Snack Patterns among Iranian Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Background: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but many children and adolescents miss the morning meal every day. This study aims to investigate the pattern of breakfast and snack consumption and their effective factors among primary and high school students in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, two independent researchers selected articles that reported on the status of breakfast and snacks among students in the Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, Medline, CIVILICA databases, and Google Scholar search engine, without time restrictions up to July ۲۰۲۲. Results: A total of ۲۱ studies involving ۴۵,۷۷۸ children and adolescents were included. The results showed that ۳۲.۲% (۹.۳-۳۲.۲) of school children and ۳۲.۰۸% (۲.۱-۳۲.۰۸) of high school students skipped breakfast. Also, ۹۷.۷% (۱۰.۵-۹۷.۷) of children and ۹۲.۸% (۱۷.۳-۹۲.۸) of adolescents reported regular breakfast. The midmorning snack intake was reported among ۹۷.۷% (۱۳-۹۷.۷) of children and ۹۶.۲% (۴۸.۶-۹۶.۲) of adolescents. The primary reasons for missing breakfast were low appetite, waking up late in the morning, non-flavored foods, and inattention of mothers. A significant relationship was found between snack consumption and maternal age, maternal educational level, gender, urban inhabitants, and birth order of the students (p<۰.۰۴۵). There was an inverse relationship between students’ age, economic situation, and breakfast consumption (p=۰.۰۱ and r= -۰.۱۴۳). Conclusion: Breakfast skipping and snack consumption were frequent among children and adolescents. The most important reasons for missing breakfast were low appetite, waking up late in the morning, non-flavored foods, and mothers’ inattention. It is necessary to plan school health promotion programs for parents and students to encourage students to eat healthy breakfasts and snacks.

کلیدواژه ها:

children ، adolescents ، Iran ، Breakfast ، Snack