A consensus document on the role of breakfast in the attainment and maintenance of health and wellness.

Considerable evidences, mainly derived from epidemiological studies, but also supported by few intervention trials, confirm the role of breakfast as part of a healthful and balanced diet, and suggest that its benefits may be partly immediate and partly mediated by the macro and micro nutrients supplied with this meal. The regular consumption of breakfast providing about 15-20% of the daily caloric intake is associated with a higher likelihood to reach the recommendeddietary levels of some micronutrients and with a reduced risk of developing obesity, cardiovascular events, and diabetes, possibly by controlling some of their risk factors. Children and adolescents who regularly have breakfast also exhibit short-term improvement in school performance. Grain-derived products such as bread, biscuits,toast bread and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals should provide the major proportion of carbohydrates. Milk and milk-derived products - within a balanced breakfast - represent the main sources of proteins, lipids, and some micronutrients.An appropriate turnover of different breakfast models might favor the regular consumption of complete breakfasts, extending its favorable effects to both the psyco-physic efficiency and the feeling of satiety inthe next hours, concomitantly contributing to a general protective effect on health.