The influence of family structure on breakfast habits among adolescents.

Introduction: Regular breakfast habits are important for the health and well-being of young people. The family is an important setting for developing regular breakfast habits. The objectives of the present study are to study the association between family structure and the regularity of breakfast habits among children and adolescents, and to analyse whether such potential association is modified by gender.

Material and methods: Data are from the Danish contribution to the international study entitled Health Behaviour in School aged Children, 2006. Participants are school children aged 11, 13 and 15 drawn from a random sample of Danish schools. The response rate was 88.8%, n = 6,269. Family structure was categorized into traditional family, single-parent family and reconstructed family. Irregular breakfast habits (IBH) were defined as having breakfast 0-1 times per week.

Results: Analyses of the total population show an increased, significant odds ratio (OR) of 1.56 for IBH among children from single-parent families. Among children from reconstructed families, an insignificant OR of 1.27 was observed. Further, the results suggest that girls living in a reconstructed family may also have an increased risk of IBH.

Conclusion: The breakfast habits of adolescent boys and girls are influenced by family structure.