Breakfast patterns among low-income, ethnically-diverse 4th-6th grade children in an urban area

Background Increasing school breakfast participation has been advocated as a method to prevent childhood obesity. However, little is known about children’s breakfast patterns outside of school (e.g., home, corner store). Policies that increase school breakfast participation without an understanding of children’s breakfast habits outside of school may result in children consuming multiple breakfasts and may undermine efforts to prevent obesity. The aim of the current study was to describe morning food and drink consumption patterns among low-income, urban children and their associations with relative weight.