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Teens
should work breakfast into their mornings
April 03, 2008
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Image-conscious
teens have another reason to not skip breakfast: Eating breakfast
may help control weight.
A study of teens’ eating patterns and their weights,
conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and
published in February in the journal Pediatrics, adds credence
to the idea that eating breakfast is beneficial.
In the five-year study of more than 2,000 teens, regular breakfast
eaters were more likely to be leaner. The frequency of breakfast-eating
declines throughout the teen years, though.
The study supports other research findings, including an earlier
Harvard study that found adults who ate breakfast were up
to half as likely to be obese compared to people who skipped
breakfast.
But many teens find it a challenge to eat in the morning.
Our 16–year-old is no exception.
Barbara’s breakfast habits changed in middle school.
Prior to her teen years, she typically started the day with
cereal and milk, whole grain toast, waffles, a muffin, or
a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of fruit juice. That soon changed.
As she tells it, “I wanted more sleep, so I woke up
later.” It left less time in the morning for breakfast.
As a junior in high school now, she stays up later at night
and comes downstairs to the kitchen even later in the morning.
“I don’t feel like eating,” she said.
Oftentimes, though, she does take a sandwich bag full of dry
cereal or an easy-to-peel Clementine to eat on the school
bus.
Taking something for later is one strategy and compromise
for dealing with skipping breakfast. Other portable, bus-friendly
foods include half of a peanut butter sandwich, a banana,
apple or pear, a cup of nonfat yogurt or a granola bar.
It’s better than nothing. Other ideas for breakfast-challenged
teens:
* Get started with a glass of juice. In the absence of an
appetite, fluids are easy to get down and can be appealing
when nothing else sounds good. Mix orange juice and carrot
or pineapple juice. Then take something solid as you run out
the door.
* Set up for breakfast the night before. Set out a bowl and
spoon and a box of cereal or a packet of instant oatmeal.
An electric tea kettle is super-convenient for quickly heating
small amounts of water for instant hot cereal.
* Give yourself a little extra time. Set the alarm to wake
yourself up 15 minutes earlier and eat breakfast before you
do anything else.
Variety can also pique anyone’s interest in eating breakfast.
Shake things up by considering some nontraditional breakfast
foods. For example:
* Hot soup. Buy packets of instant miso soup, a Japanese morning
tradition. Or heat any kind of soup in a microwave oven. You
can even take it to go in a travel mug.
* Dinner leftovers. Cold pizza or Chinese take-out are fine.
No rule says breakfast has to be cereal or toast.
* A smoothie. Set out the blender the night before. Design
your own breakfast concoction by blending together your choice
of ingredients: nonfat milk or soymilk, orange juice, nonfat
vanilla or plain yogurt, a banana or other fresh fruit, several
ice cubes, a dash of vanilla extract or cinnamon, a tablespoon
of wheat germ – use your imagination. Remember: Travel
mugs aren’t just for coffee.
Teens: It’s worth the effort to figure out how to work
breakfast into your daily routine. You’ve got nothing
to lose – except excess weight – by trying.
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