Children who skip main meals are more likely to have excess body fat and an increased risk for heart disease and obesity by the time they are six to eight years old, according to a doctoral study from the University of Eastern Finland. A higher consumption of sugary drinks, red meat and low-fat margarine and a lower consumption of vegetable oil are also related to a higher risk.

The dietary habits in a population sample of 512 Finnish girls and boys six to eight years old were assessed. Children who skipped meals were more likely to have excess body fat. Uncontrolled eating behaviors, such as eating quickly, emotional overeating and lower satiety responsiveness were also associated with higher fat levels in children.

Less than half of the children ate all three main meals—breakfast, lunch and dinner—every day. Instead, snacks were a major source of energy and sucrose. A minority of the children consumed vegetables, fruit and berries as recommended. As many as a quarter of the children consumed sugary drinks daily. The intakes of saturated fat, sucrose and salt were higher and the intakes of dietary fiber, vitamin D and iron were lower than recommended among the children.

“Based on the findings, sticking to regular meals seems to be crucial for preventing overweight and cardiometabolic diseases already in childhood,” says Aino-Maija Eloranta, MHSc, who presented the results in her doctoral thesis at the University of Eastern Finland. “In addition, parents need to provide their children with better dietary choices: regular-fat vegetable-oil margarines and vegetable oils instead of low-fat margarines, fat-free milk and water instead of sugary drinks and more fish instead of red meat at meals.”