Popular tradition is still right in some nutritional recommendations, which we often ignore. For example if our grandparents knew (and put into practice) that we should “Have breakfast like a king, eat like a prince and have dinner like a beggar”; We want to 'know more' and have a coffee at 8 in the morning, two packed dishes (more salad and dessert) at lunchtime, and a potato omelette with bread for dinner.
But it is true that the first meal of the day is very important, and especially for children, since with it we break the night fast and we provide the first nutrients that will allow us to cope with the day without deficiencies. Researcher María Wennberg (from the University of Umeâ, in Sweden) has coordinated a retrospective study published in Public Health Nutrition. The team has concluded that young people who do not eat breakfast (or consume poor food - for example, sweets in excess -) are more likely to develop a set of vascular risk symptoms known as metabolic syndrome, in adulthood.
The metabolic syndrome is specified in the combination of some of the most important cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension or abdominal obesity, for example), in addition to the risk of contracting type 2 diabetes
It is an issue (breakfast as an important meal) that developed countries are beginning to pay attention to, so that institutional campaigns, advice in pediatric rooms, and different recommendations found in the media can be observed. However, the change starts with oneself, in this case for the family: After all, not only the school performance of children but also their metabolic health is at stake.
There are previous studies that relate the quality of the diet to inadequate life habits, so it also points to the possibility that a bad breakfast is also related to an unhealthy lifestyle.
We have commented on several occasions in Peques and Más, but an ideal breakfast should include protein (not too much), healthy fats, and sources of carbohydrates and vitamins (such as low-processed fruits and cereals - whole grain)
