Did you know that the US Center for Disease Control predicts that one-third of all Americans will have diabetes by the year 2050? This scary statistic is not just an American phenomenon; China already has more diabetics than any other country. The main culprit is always obesity and an unhealthy diet – lifestyle patterns that are set as children, and which are very difficult to change later on.
A crucial step to improving your diet is to ensure you eat a nutritious breakfast. The 20-30 percent of children and teens skipping breakfast may think it’s no big deal, but the long-term consequences of skipping breakfast can be serious enough to warrant a family discussion.
We all know that eating breakfast is important, but just how importantis it? Fortunately, there are a slew of new studies that can help parents convince their kids to eat breakfast. And for parents who are skipping the most important meal of the day, it may convince them to start taking their own advice.
The importance of eating breakfast was covered in a fascinating 20-year study recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this study, researchers asked 2,000 school children about their breakfast habits, then followed up with them 20 years later and assessed their health. The results were striking. Those kids who skipped breakfast for all those years had waists 2 inches larger. As adults, these same kids also had higher insulin levels, which leads to diabetes. They also had higher total cholesterol including "bad" cholesterol, LDL – both of which cause clogging of the arteries and eventually lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Children who skip breakfast actually end up more obese than those who eat breakfast. The main reason for this is because breakfast-skippersget very hungry by lunchtime and end up binging more, usually with less healthy mid-morning snacks and bigger lunch portions. These bad routines slowly lead to larger waists, and year after year these effects turn into more serious health issues as adults.
But it’s not just long-term health that’s at stake; many studies suggest that proper breakfasts and overall nutrition help to improve memory, test grades and school attendance. A study published in 2008 in Pediatrics, showed that high school teens who ate breakfast felt much more alert and more positive, with improved short-term memory.
The type of breakfast is also important. The bulk of research suggests what is obvious to parents: Complex whole-grain cereals, fruits, nuts, and dairy products are the best options. Quick energy bursts from sugary cereals give kids an immediate high, which wears off just as quickly, and their brains and body are dragging along come lunchtime. And there’s evidence to back this up: Studies have shown that short-term morning memory and test scores are lower with a high simple-sugar breakfast.
So, the next time your kids try to run out the door before eating breakfast, sit them down in front of a bowl of Wheaties with yogurt and tell them how breakfast helps improve not only their grades but their health – both now, and in their future.
Need more info? American Dr. Richard Saint Cyr works at International Medical Center Beijing and runs a blog, www.myhealthbeijing.com
