Ready-to-eat cereals improve nutrient, milk and fruit intake at breakfast in European adolescents

[Purpose]: Breakfast consumption has been recommended as part of a healthy diet. Recently, ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC) became more popular as a breakfast item. Our aim was to analyse the dietary characteristics of an RTEC breakfast in European adolescents and to compare them with other breakfast options. [Methods]: From the European multi-centre HELENA study, two 24-h dietary recalls of 3137 adolescents were available. Food items (RTEC or bread, milk/yoghurt, fruit) and macro- and micronutrient intakes at breakfast were calculated. Cross-sectional regression analyses were adjusted for gender, age, socio-economic status and city. [Results]: Compared to bread breakfasts (39 %) and all other breakfasts (41.5 %), RTEC breakfast (19.5 %) was associated with improved nutrient intake (less fat and less sucrose; more fibre, protein and some micronutrients like vitamin B, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus) at the breakfast occasion. Exceptions were more simple sugars in RTEC breakfast consumers: more lactose and galactose due to increased milk consumption, but also higher glucose and fructose than bread consumers. RTEC consumers had a significantly higher frequency (92.5 vs. 50.4 and 60.2 %) and quantity of milk/yoghurt intake and a slightly higher frequency of fruit intake (13.4 vs. 10.9 and 8.0 %) at breakfast. [Conclusions]: Among European adolescents, RTEC consumers showed a more favourable nutrient intake than consumers of bread or other breakfasts, except for simple sugars. Therefore, RTEC may be regarded as a good breakfast option as part of a varied and balanced diet. Nevertheless, more research is warranted concerning the role of different RTEC types in nutrient intake, especially for simple sugars.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Michels, Nathalie, De Henauw, Stefaan, Béghin, Laurent, Cuenca-García, Magdalena, González Gross, Marcela, Hallström, Lena, Kafatos, Anthony, Kersting, Mathilde, Manios, Yannis, Marcos, Ascensión, Molnár, Dénes, Roccaldo, Romana, Sjöström, Michael, Reye, Béatrice, Thielecke, Frank, Widhalm, Kurt, Claessens, Mandy
Other Authors:	European Commission
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Published:	Springer Nature 2016
Subjects:	Fruit, Milk, Nutrients, Breakfast, Adolescents, Ready-to-eat cereals,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/171609 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780
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