Introduction:

the intake of a “complete” breakfast quality (BQ) has been associated with a healthier food choice throughout the day, as Mediterranean diet adherence (MDA) has been associated with an improvement in the health status.

Objective:

to assess BQ in a university population, and to establish its relationship with MDA and weight status (WS).

Methods:

this was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 490 university students. A weekly breakfast food registry was used. Five categories were established, according to the adaptation of the EnKid-FEN criteria, three according to the basic groups (dairy, cereals, and fruits): “Bad” (does not have breakfast or does not include any), “Insufficient” (includes at least one) and “Improvable” (includes at least two); and two depending on the basic groups, other additional groups different from the previous ones, and the energy consumed: “Good” (includes mainly the three basic groups, and can include another additional group, in which case the sum of energy is < 20 % of the daily energy) and “Complete” (includes the three basic groups plus another additional group with a sum of energy ≥ 20 % of daily requirement). In addition, the time spent eating breakfast was computed. The assessment of MDA was carried out using the Kidmed questionnaire. BMI was used to establish the WS categories.

Results:

at breakfast the students mostly consumed dairy products (82.4 %) and cereals (75.3 %) compared to fruits (25.7 %). A total of 16.9 % had a “Good or Complete” BQ, 25.7 % had a “High” MDA, and 11.2 % had “Overweight-Obesity”. A significant association was shown between BQ and MDA, as a “Bad” o “Complete” BQ implies a greater probability of having a “Low” (53.8 %) o “High” (57.7 %) MDA, respectively. In addition, significant differences were shown in breakfast time according to BQ and MDA, as those students who spent more than 15 minutes for breakfast presented a greater probability of having a “Complete” BQ and “High” MDA when compared to students who ate a shorter breakfast. No significant differences were seen in WS according to BQ or MDA.

Conclusion:

in this study BQ and the time spent at breakfast are related to quality, which is closely linked to the degree of MDA, which highlights the importance of training and educating this population in healthy eating habits, and of approaching a healthier diet through breakfast quality.

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