Breakfast and Snack Status among the Students of Iranian Ethnicities

Due to faster growth of physiological factors, adolescence is one of the most critical periods of human growth. Proper nutrition can considerably help to increase the quality of growth in the teenage population. This study aimed to determine the status of breakfast and snacks among the students of five Iranian ethnicities in winter 2015.
This cross-sectional study was performed on 2444 students aged 12-14 from 5 Iranian ethnicities (Arab, Kurdish, Sistani and Baluchi, Turkish and Turkmen) using multistage stratified and random sampling method. Data collection tool included a researcher-made questionnaire containing demographic variables and dependent variables with 17 questions. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were approved. All breakfast and snack foods consumed recorded for the current and the previous days.
The mean type of food at home was 2.2 for breakfast and the mean amount of snacks at school was 1.8. 17.3% of the students at home breakfast and 16.2% of students at the school did not consume any food. The least nutrition content group was the group of fruits and vegetables, and the highest nutrition was from the miscellaneous group. The quality of 16% of the received foods was poor. There was a significant relationship between the quantity and quality of foods consumed and the ethnic groups (p The results showed that the status of breakfast and snacks among the students in the studied ethnicities groups was different, and all ethnicity groups in need of improvement.