Associations between Breakfast Skipping and Body Mass Index, and Type 2 Diabetes in South Korea

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between breakfast skipping and body mass index (BMI), and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in South Korea. Methods: Data were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV (2007–2009) using a rolling sampling design of a complex, stratified, multistage, probability-cluster survey of civilian noninstitutionalized Korean residents. In total, 12,172 of 18,210 subjects were included in this study (subjects with missing variables were excluded). Results: The odds of T2D in individuals who did not consume breakfast was 3.05 (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.46–3.77) than in those who consumed breakfast. The estimated BMI was decreased by 0.19 kg/m2 (p<0.001) in those who did not consume breakfast compared with those who did. Conclusions: Breakfast skipping in South Korea is associated with increased T2D and BMI, similar to research results reported in Western countries.