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

• Published in: European journal of nutrition Vol. 55; no. 2; pp. 771 - 779
• Main Authors: Michels, Nathalie, De Henauw, Stefaan, Beghin, Laurent, Cuenca-García, Magdalena, Gonzalez-Gross, Marcela, Hallstrom, Lena, Kafatos, Anthony, Kersting, Mathilde, Manios, Yannis, Marcos, Ascensión, Molnar, Denes, Roccaldo, Romana, Santaliestra-Pasías, Alba M, Sjostrom, Michael, Reye, Béatrice, Thielecke, Frank, Widhalm, Kurt, Claessens, Mandy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; adolescents; Animals; breads; Breakfast; calcium; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; diet recall; Diet Surveys; Dietary Fats - administration & dosage; Dietary Fats - analysis; Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage; Dietary Fiber - analysis; Dietary Sucrose - administration & dosage; Dietary Sucrose - analysis; Edible Grain; Energy Intake; European Continental Ancestry Group; Fast Foods; Female; fructose; Fruit; fruit consumption; galactose; gender; glucose; grains; Healthy Diet; Humans; lactose; Life Style; Linear Models; magnesium; Male; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mental Recall; Micronutrients - administration & dosage; Micronutrients - analysis; Milk; milk consumption; nutrient intake; Nutrition; Nutritive Value; Original Contribution; phosphorus; ready-to-eat foods; regression analysis; Socioeconomic Factors; socioeconomic status; sucrose; yogurt; Ready-to-eat cereals; Nutrients; Breakfast; Fruit; Adolescents; Milk
• ISSN: 1436-6207; 1436-6215; 1436-6215
• DOI: 10.1007/s00394-015-0898-x

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.