Goals and Objectives

The journal's goal

The journal's goal was to see if skipping breakfast resulted in an excessive increase in body weight among adolescents over time. The study's only purpose was to examine the association between breakfast frequency and changes in body mass index (BMI) among teenagers.

Details on Sampling

Participants were sent gender-specific questionnaires. At baseline, a cohort of 8980 girls and 7791 boys was used after taking into account all relevant characteristics (1996). Participants were the children of Nurses' Health Study II participants from 50 different states. Follow-up questionnaires were sent in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and the participants response rates to at least one of the surveys were 94.1% for girls and 89.5% for boys. The study is therefore based on the group of participants who were consistent in the follow-up surveys which included 6458 boys and 8128 girls of age 9-17 years.

Statistical Methodologies

The baseline values for children who participated in the survey in the consecutive years of factors such as age, breakfast frequency, energy intake and body mass index were compared with those of children who did not return their surveys in the follow-up years. A table was used to show the percent of children in every breakfast frequency category and their BMI in terms of those who were lean, normal or overweight. Mixed linear regression models were used to determine the effect of the frequency of taking breakfast at time t, on the change of BMI between t and t+1 years, using the change in BMI as the continuous variable. Height growth during year t, menstrual history for years t and t+1, tanner stage, age, BMI Z-score at year t26, 56-59 , race and activity and inactivity during the year of BMI change were factors included in every model to account for changes in the BMI. Some models included additional factors such as, energy intake and cereal intake. Further, logistic models using generalized estimating equations and SAS pro genmod projections were used to account for up to 3 observations per child, related academic performance at the end of year t, plus breakfast frequency in years t and t+1. Variables like race, age, Tanner stage and academic performance at year t were adjusted when making the projections for each of the years 1996-1999.

Results/Conclusions

Children who were categorized as never-eaters (of breakfast) were heavier than those who ate breakfast nearly daily with the percentage of boys being higher by 5.2 and that of girls by 9.5. The analysis suggested that, overweight boys and girls who skipped breakfast gained less weight than daily eaters while normal weight children who ate breakfast 1 or 2 days in a week gained more weight than those who ate daily, other factors constant. In as much as skipping breakfast has been seen as a way of reducing energy intake for the overweight children, alternative methods can be explored to avoid the far-reaching effects of skipping breakfast. The study further indicated a strong relationship between breakfast frequency and performance in school either in that year or the year after that.

Proposed study

Goals and Objectives

Skipping breakfast seemed to be a remedy for weight loss among the overweight/obese adolescents. However, it’s not the best option to exploit owing to the fact that breakfast is an important part of the day and has positive impacts on the academic lives of kids among others. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether proper sleep patterns among the overweight adolescents are associated with weight loss.

Sampling Details

The study targets more than 15,000 nine-year olds, distributed through all the states in the USA. It’s expected to be a 5-year study in which data will be collected daily since all the participants will be required to consider it as a daily program. Monthly recording sheets will be emailed to participants and are expected to be emailed back on the 1st day of every month. Each participant will be equipped with an accelerometer and instructed to wear it to help in electronically collecting data on physical activity. Finally, monthly 30 min tests will be used to determine the stress levels of each participant.

Data to Use

Time of sleep, number of hours slept, demographic measures, pubertal measures, number of meals consumed and the components of each (determinants of energy intake), monthly stress levels, daily measures of activity or inactivity on each participant and end of month BMI levels are the main variables of measure for the success of this study. The monthly sheets will therefore be used to record time of sleep, hours between bedtime and the last meal, time of waking up, and monthly BMI levels.

Statistical Methodologies

Multiple cross-sectional regression analysis will be employed to determine the relationship between measures of BMI over the 85th percentile and amount of sleep. The chi-square test will also be used to determine the interdependence between gender, academic performance, and the grade level. All the models are finally adjusted for energy intake, demographic measures, frequency of meals per day, hours between the last meal and bedtime, depression levels, energy expenditure, and pubertal status.

Expected Results

There is a known strong positive correlation between sleep and weight, where poor sleep patterns would easily lead to developed overweight and/or obesity (Leslie A. Lytle, 2010). The study is thus expected to produce similar results but prove proper sleep patterns, proper number of hours before bed, proper dieting, and lower stress levels as the ideal combination for proper weight loss for overweight adolescents and a way of maintaining weight levels among adolescents.

References

CS Berkey, H. R. (2003). Longitudinal study of skipping breakfast and weight change in adolescents. International Journal of Obesity, 27, 1258-1266.

Leslie A. Lytle, K. E. (2010, October 14). pmc: ncbi.nlm.nih. Retrieved from ncbi.nlm.nih website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3099473/