Introduction:

Breakfast arouses considerable scientific interest as a potential lifestyle parameter.

Objective:

Analyze the relationship between anxiety levels and breakfast type in schoolchildren.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted of 116 schoolchildren from the Isle of Fuerteventura. Anxiety was evaluated with the Spence Children Anxiety Scale (SCAS) questionnaire. Items about breakfast were taken from the KIDMED Test of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet. Statistical processing was based on one way ANOVA and the multivariate logistic regression test.

Results:

Intake of a cereal is associated to a lesser probability of developing agoraphobia and panic attacks (OR = 1.14, p < 0.01), social phobia (OR = 0.71, p < 0.05), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OR = 1.22, p < 0.05) and overall anxiety index (OR = 1.05, p < 0.05). On the other hand, not having pastry for breakfast habitually was associated to a lesser probability of developing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OR = 1.13; p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

Optimum breakfast quality, such as eating healthy cereals and not eating industrial pastries, is associated to lower levels of anxiety in schoolchildren during the state of alarm decreed in Spain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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