Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of skipping breakfast and explore the factors behind skipping a healthy breakfast among primary school children in Kirkuk City.
Methodology: This school-based cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2022 and February 2023 on a sample of 397 children, aged 9 to 14 years, which was selected randomly from 20 primary schools in Kirkuk City. A structured questionnaire (using an interviewing approach) was employed for data collection. SPSS 26 was used for data entry and analysis. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used.
Results: Out of the 400 children, 397 participated in the study with a response rate of 99.3%. More than half (54.7%) of the children skipped breakfast, among these 125 (31.4%) always skipped, 67 (16.8%) often skipped, and 25 (6.3%) sometimes skipped. Skipping breakfast was significantly associated with sleeping patterns (p=0.001), wake-up time (p=0.001), breakfast time (p=0.001), physical activity (p=0.016), and mother's educational level.
Conclusion: Sleeping patterns, wake-up time, breakfast time, physical activity, and the mother’s level of education were apparent factors behind skipping breakfast in primary school children. It necessitates developing an educational program for mothers in addition to the school breakfast program.

Key words: Skipping healthy breakfast, factor, Primary school children, Kirkuk, Iraq.