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One in five children reported that they do not eat breakfast, with the proportion of breakfast-eaters decreasing as kids age, according to the CDC.

Around 82% of children and young adults ate breakfast on a given day, reported Ana Terry, MS, RD, of the CDC National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues.

Kids were less likely to eat a morning meal as they got older, with nearly 96% of children ages 2 to 5 years consuming breakfast versus 73% of those ages 12 to 19, they wrote in a .

The proportion of kids who ate breakfast increased with their family's household income, and differed among racial groups. Black and Hispanic children across all age groups were less likely to eat breakfast than their white and Asian peers.

"Breakfast-eating has always been a concern," said Mary Story, PhD, RD, a professor of global health, family medicine, and community health at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. "But given these times with COVID, we know that has drastically increased."

Story, who was not involved with the research, stated that the association between breakfast consumption and household income highlights the role of public school breakfast programs.

"That is really striking, and it shows the critical need and role of school meals," she said. While the nutritional quality of school meals has largely improved due to new nutritional guidelines, Story added that future public health interventions might include providing universal school breakfasts to reduce stigma for students who participate in free and reduced lunch programs. She also said ensuring students have access to breakfasts on the is crucial.

Eating breakfast is vital for school-aged children, and is associated with better memory and test scores, a healthier body weight, and improved overall nutrition, according to the .

Terry and colleagues obtained data from 2015 to 2018 in the (NHANES). All participants were asked to recall their dietary intake across the last 24 hours. Participants were stratified into the following age groups: 2 to 5 years, 6 to 11, and 12 to 19.

Around 78% of Black children overall reported having breakfast versus 85% of white children, 86% of Asian children, and 80% of Hispanic children. Black adolescents ate breakfast at the lowest rate, with two-thirds stating that they consumed breakfast.

Approximately 78% of kids whose families had an income below the federal poverty level reported eating breakfast, 10% less than kids who came from higher-income households.

Milk, high-sugar cereals, and water were reported as the most common breakfast items for children and young adults in all age groups. One-fifth of all kids drank water at breakfast. Around 60% of children ages 2 to 5 consumed milk, versus 30% of children ages 12 to 19. Children ages 6 to 19, were more likely than the youngest group to consume 100% juice.

There were no changes in the percentage of children who consumed breakfast from 2009-2010 to 2017-2018. While the proportion of children who ate breakfast decreased with age, there were no differences between girls and boys.

Because dietary data for younger and middle-aged children was reported by a proxy, and dietary recall may be subject to misreporting, Terry and colleagues acknowledged that the data may be biased.

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