The Association Between Breakfast Skipping and Positive and Negative Emotional Wellbeing Outcomes for Children and Adolescents in South Australia

Background/Objectives: The prevalence of child and adolescent breakfast skipping is concerning, and limited existing evidence suggests an association between skipping breakfast and negative emotional wellbeing outcomes. However, positive emotional wellbeing outcomes have been neglected from research in this space. Methods: This study explored child and adolescent breakfast skipping and associations with both positive and negative emotional wellbeing outcomes. We utilised existing population-level data (n = 80,610, aged 8–18 years) collected in 2023 via a statewide census among children and adolescents in South Australian schools, the Wellbeing and Engagement Collection. Results: Adjusted linear regression analyses indicated lower scores on positive wellbeing outcomes for students who skipped breakfast every day compared to students who never skipped breakfast, ranging from β = −0.19 for happiness (95% CI = −0.21, −0.17) to β = −0.23 for optimism (95% CI = −0.25, −0.21). Results also highlighted higher scores on negative wellbeing indicators, sadness (β = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.10, 0.15), and worries (β = 0.05 95% CI = 0.03, 0.08) among students who always skipped relative to those who never skipped breakfast. Conclusions: Findings support the potential for child and adolescent emotional wellbeing to be fostered through interventions designed to promote daily breakfast consumption. Future research focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding child and adolescent breakfast consumption behaviours is needed to inform the development of effective interventions to increase breakfast consumption.