Gwangju Education Group: "Number of Students Skipping Breakfast Increasing Every Year... Countermeasures Needed"

Teen Breakfast Skipping Rate Reaches 44.4%

The breakfast skipping rate among teenagers in the Gwangju area has been increasing every year. In response, an educational organization argued that "creating an environment for the healthy growth of teenagers should be the top priority," and urged the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education to take active measures.

According to the civic group 'Citizens' Coalition for a Society Without Academic Hierarchy' on the 16th, last year's 20th Youth Health Behavior Survey released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency showed that the breakfast skipping rate among teenagers in Gwangju was 44.4%. This means that more than 4 out of 10 teenagers skip breakfast more than five times a week.

In the 20th Youth Health Behavior Survey announced last year by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the meal skipping rate among adolescents in the Gwangju area was 44.4%. This means that more than 4 out of 10 adolescents skip breakfast at least five times a week. Yonhap News

This result is higher than the national average (42.4%) and ranks third after Daejeon and Jeonbuk.

Furthermore, the skipping rate has been on the rise every year: 38.7% in 2021, 39.3% in 2022, 43.2% in 2023, and 44.4% in 2024.

The civic group pointed out, "The issue of skipping breakfast has a fatal impact on the health of teenagers," adding, "The more frequently breakfast is skipped, the more it leads to increases in BMI and waist circumference, which raises the risk of obesity."

They continued, "The Gwangju Office of Education plans to pilot a breakfast snack program this year at three schools (with a total budget of 60 million won)," emphasizing, "We urge the expansion of the breakfast snack program."

They also called for "inspections and guidance for early school attendance, normalization of 9 a.m. school start times, multifaceted analysis of the causes of skipping breakfast, and the establishment of comprehensive countermeasures."