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. 2018 Oct 18;10(10):1540.
doi: 10.3390/nu10101540.

Towards an Evidence-Based Recommendation for a Balanced Breakfast-A Proposal from the International Breakfast Research Initiative

Michael J Gibney  1 , Susan I Barr  2 , France Bellisle  3 , Adam Drewnowski  4 , Sisse Fagt  5 , Sinead Hopkins  6 , Barbara Livingstone  7 , Gregorio Varela-Moreiras  8 , Luis Moreno  9 , Jessica Smith  10 , Florent Vieux  11 , Frank Thielecke  12 , Gabriel Masset  13
Affiliations

Towards an Evidence-Based Recommendation for a Balanced Breakfast-A Proposal from the International Breakfast Research Initiative

Michael J Gibney et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The International Breakfast Research Initiative (IBRI) set out to derive nutritional recommendations for a balanced breakfast using a standardized analysis of national nutrition surveys from Canada, Denmark, France, Spain, UK and the US. In all countries, the frequency of breakfast consumption by age was high and U-shaped with children and older adults having a higher frequency of breakfast consumption. Breakfast contributed 16% to 21% of daily energy intake. In all countries, breakfast was a carbohydrate- and nutrient-rich meal, providing more carbohydrates (including sugars), thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and less vitamin A, fats and sodium relative to its contribution to daily energy intakes. Breakfast consumers were stratified by tertiles of the Nutrient Rich Foods (NRF) index, used as a measure of diet quality. Breakfast intakes associated with the top tertile of NRF, along with the Codex Alimentarius international food standards and World Health Organization (WHO) diet guidelines, were used to derive the proposed nutrient recommendations. The goal was to preserve the nutrient density of existing breakfasts, while addressing concerns regarding added sugars, saturated fats, dietary fiber, and vitamin D. This initiative is unique in seeking to derive nutrient recommendations for a specific meal using the observed nutritional profile of such meal.

Keywords: IBRI; breakfast; nutrient recommendations.

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Conflict of interest statement

The International Breakfast Research Initiative work and the publication of the series of papers in open access was funded by Cereal Partners Worldwide (European studies) and General Mills Inc. (Canadian and US studies). M.J.G., F.T., F.V., A.D., F.B., S.I.B., L.M., B.L. received compensation for their contribution to the project. G.V.-M. and S.F. received a research grant through their respective institutions. The authors declare no further conflict of interest. A Governing Principles document outlining rights and duties in this project was signed by all researchers or their institutions and the project sponsors. A copy of the document is included in the Supplementary Material (Figure S3).

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proportion of regular breakfast consumers by country and age group Regular breakfast consumption was defined as follow: Canada–consumed breakfast on the recall day; Denmark and France–consumed breakfast ≥5 days out of 7; Spain–consumed breakfast 3 out of 3 days; UK-consumed breakfast ≥3 days out of 4; US-consumed breakfast with more than 50 kcal on the recall day. Age groups were defined as follow: Children (6–12 years, except Spain 9–12 years and UK 5–12 years); Adolescents (13–17 years, except UK 13–18 years); Younger adults (18–54 years, except UK 19–64 years); Older adults (55+ years, except UK 65+ years).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Contribution of breakfast to daily energy among regular breakfast consumers, by country and age group Age groups were defined as follows: Children (6–12 years, except Spain 9–12 years and UK 5–12 years); Adolescents (13–17 years, except UK 13–18 years); Younger adults (18–54 years, except UK 18–64 years); Older adults (55+ years, except UK 65+ years).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Macronutrient profiles (% energy contributions) of breakfast and daily intakes among regular breakfast consumers, in the total survey populations. Added sugars intake data were not available for Canada; thus “other carbs” are total carbohydrates in the Canada bar.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Contribution of breakfast to daily energy and nutrient intakes, total survey populations. The box represents observed contribution of breakfast to daily energy intakes.
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