Nutrition knowledge related to breakfast skipping among Japanese adults aged 18-64 years: a cross-sectional study

Objective Breakfast skipping is regarded as a public health issue among adults worldwide. Nutrition knowledge has been reported to be one of predictors of dietary behaviour. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the association between nutrition knowledge and breakfast skipping. Design Data regarding nutrition knowledge were obtained by using a validated, self-administered general nutrition knowledge questionnaire for Japanese adults (JGNKQ). Participants were classified into three nutrition knowledge level groups according to total JGNKQ score: Low, Middle and High. In addition, participants reported the frequency of meal consumption per week and rated the difficulty in finding time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the lifestyle questionnaire. The differences in frequency of breakfast, lunch and dinner consumption among Low, Middle and High nutrition knowledge groups were determined by using ANCOVA adjusted for potential confounding factors. Setting Kanto region, Japan. Participants Japanese adults aged 18-64 years (n 1165, 57 center dot 3% women). Results Mean age of the participants was 43 center dot 8 (sd 8 center dot 9) years. There were no significant differences found in the proportion of respondents reporting difficulty in finding time to eat each meal among the three groups. However, the frequency of breakfast consumption was significantly different among Low, Middle and High groups, while lunch and dinner frequency did not differ among the three groups. Conclusions The present study suggests that nutrition knowledge level is related to breakfast skipping among Japanese adults.