Breakfast in the Classroom Initiative and Students' Breakfast Consumption Behaviors: A Group Randomized Trial.

Objectives. To identify the effect of a Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) initiative on the foods and drinks students consume in the morning.Methods. Sixteen public schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that provide universal breakfast participated in a group randomized trial to examine the effects of BIC with complementary nutrition promotion between 2013 and 2016. Control schools (n = 8) offered breakfast in the cafeteria before school. Baseline data were collected from 1362 students in grades 4 to 6. Endpoint data were collected after 2.5 years. Students self-reported the foods and drinks they consumed in the morning.Results. At endpoint, there was no effect of the intervention on breakfast skipping. Nearly 30% of intervention students consumed breakfast foods or drinks from multiple locations, as compared with 21% of control students. A greater proportion of intervention students than control students consumed 100% juice, and a smaller proportion consumed sugar-sweetened beverages and foods high in saturated fat and added sugar.Conclusions. A BIC initiative led to improvements in the types of foods and drinks students consumed in the morning. However, the program did not reduce breakfast skipping and increased the number of locations where students ate.

Breakfast-Skipping and Selecting Low-Nutritional-Quality Foods for Breakfast Are Common among Low-Income Urban Children, Regardless of Food Security Status.

BACKGROUND: Universal access to the School Breakfast Program (SBP) is intended to help low-income and food-insecure students overcome barriers to eating breakfast. However, SBP participation is often still low despite universal access. Further information is needed with regard to these children's breakfast behaviors, and in particular breakfast behaviors among youth from food-insecure families, to inform effective breakfast interventions. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine breakfast behaviors among a large sample of urban students with universal access to the SBP and to identify differences in breakfast behaviors among children from food-secure compared with food-insecure households. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 821 fourth- through sixth-grade students and their parents from 16 schools was conducted. Students reported the foods/drinks selected and location of obtaining food/drink on the morning of data collection, parents reported household food security status using the 6-item Food Security Survey Module, and the school district provided SBP participation data during the fall semester of 2013. Multivariable linear regression models accounting for school-level clustering were used to examine differences in breakfast behaviors across 3 levels of household food security: food secure, low food secure, and very low food secure. RESULTS: Students participated in the SBP 31.2% of possible days, with 13% never participating in the SBP. One-fifth (19.4%) of students purchased something from a corner store for breakfast, and 16.9% skipped breakfast. Forty-six percent of students were food insecure; few differences in breakfast behaviors were observed across levels of food security. CONCLUSIONS: Despite universal access to the SBP, participation in the SBP is low. Breakfast skipping and selection of foods of low nutritional quality in the morning are common, regardless of household food security status. Additional novel implementation of the SBP and addressing students' breakfast preferences may be necessary to further reduce barriers to students obtaining a free, healthful breakfast. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01924130.

Effect of a Breakfast in the Classroom Initiative on Obesity in Urban School-aged Children: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Serving breakfast in the classroom is promoted to increase participation in the federal School Breakfast Program. However, little is known about the effect of breakfast in the classroom on children's weight status. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a breakfast in the classroom initiative, which combined breakfast in the classroom with breakfast-specific nutrition education, on overweight and obesity among urban children in low-income communities. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cluster-randomized clinical trial among 1362 fourth- through sixth-grade students from low-income urban communities across 2.5 years. Sixteen kindergarten through eighth grade Philadelphia public schools with universal breakfast participated. Participants were recruited in September 2013, and the intervention began in January 2014. Data analysis took place from April 1, 2018, to August 30, 2018. Interventions: Intervention schools received a program that included breakfast in the classroom and breakfast-specific nutrition education. Control schools continued breakfast before school in the cafeteria and standard nutrition education. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the combined incidence of overweight and obesity. Secondary outcomes included the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity, incidence and prevalence of obesity, changes in body mass index (BMI) z score, and School Breakfast Program participation. Results: Among the 1362 students, mean (SD) age was 10.8 (0.96) years and 700 (51.4%) were female; 907 (66.6%) were black, 233 (17.1%) were Hispanic, 100 (7.3%) were white, 83 (6.1%) were Asian, and 39 were of multiple or other race/ethnicity. After 2.5 years, students in intervention schools had participated in the School Breakfast Program 53.8% of days, compared with 24.9% of days among students in control schools (ß = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.22-0.42). There was no difference between intervention and control schools in the combined incidence of overweight and obesity after 2.5 years (11.7% vs 9.3%; odds ratio [OR] 1.31; 95% CI, 0.85-2.02; P = .22). However, the incidence (11.6% vs 4.4%; OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.47-4.00) and prevalence (28.0% vs 21.2%; OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.11-1.92) of obesity were higher in intervention schools than in control schools after 2.5 years. Conclusions and Relevance: A breakfast in the classroom initiative increased participation in the School Breakfast Program and did not affect the combined incidence of overweight and obesity. However, the initiative had an unintended consequence of increasing incident and prevalent obesity. Further research is needed to identify approaches to increase participation in the School Breakfast Program that do not increase obesity among students. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01924130.

Breakfast Quality Varies by Location among Low-Income Ethnically Diverse Children in Public Urban Schools.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate breakfast location and children's food choices. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 1,371 fourth- through sixth-grade students in 2013. Foods and beverages in 17 categories characterized breakfast choices: (1) ≥ 1 fruits or vegetables, (2) ≥ 1 foods high in saturated fats and added sugars (SFAS), and (3) meeting School Breakfast Program (SBP) requirements. RESULTS: Among breakfast eaters (n = 1,133; 82.6%), 46.0% ate at home, 13.1% ate at school, 41.0% ate at multiple locations; and 21.8% ate at a corner store. Those eating at school were more likely to consume ≥1 fruit or vegetable (odds ratio [OR] = 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-2.87), less likely to eat ≥1 SFAS food (OR = 0.46; 95% CI, 0.22-0.94), and more likely to meet SBP requirements (OR = 2.47; 95% CI, 1.42-4.29). Those eating at corner stores (n = 247) were more likely to consume high-SFAS foods (63.9% vs 9.2%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Eating school breakfast increased the odds of consuming fruit, choosing lower SFAS, and meeting nutritional requirements of the SBP relative to other locations.