French toast, pancakes, and Eggs Benedict. I’ve always loved breakfast, but until just a few years ago I enjoyed these morning staples well after sunup and sometimes not at all. In fact, as a teenager my eating habits were atrocious. I not only skipped breakfast but often lunch, as well.

Bad mistake and one quantified by a new study published in this month’s journal of Pediatrics. Over five years, researchers followed the diet and weight patterns of 2,216 teens from Minneapolis-St. Paul public schools.

They discovered that the kids who ate breakfast on a regular basis had a lower body mass index and gained less weight than those who skipped the meal. The early morning noshers also tended to be more physically active than their counterparts.

Coincidence? Correlation? It’s too early say, but the scant research thus far seems to corroborate the old anecdote that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With childhood obesity rates almost tripling over the last 20 years, any movement toward a healthier lifestyle among today’s youth is critical.

I certainly made my move several years back, and with fair consistency consume breakfast almost on a daily basis. Though, these days my breakfast choices have grown, as well, to healthier alternatives like oatmeal, muesli, and scrambled egg whites.

Check out the School Nutrition Association’s campaign for school breakfast, which officially ends today, for more good reasons on why you should promote eating breakfast at your school.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor