Breakfast characteristics, perception, and reasons of skipping among 8th and 9th-grade students at governmental schools, Jenin governance, West Bank

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Skipping Breakfast Among College-Going Students in a Private University

Background Breakfast is considered one of the important meals of the day as it repletes glucose supply to the brain and improves learning. Skipping breakfast has become more common among college students. It is prompting them to adopt unhealthy lifestyles which might affect their health in the long term. The present study aimed to assess the health effects of skipping breakfast among college students. The main objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of breakfast-skipping patterns and the factors associated with skipping breakfast among college students. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study involved 540 college students from four institutions (Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Chengalpattu, Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Dental Sciences, Chengalpattu, Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Dental Sciences, Chengalpattu, and Karpaga Vinayaga College of Nursing, Chengalpattu) in Tamil Nadu. A Simple Random Sampling method was used to select the sample. Data were gathered using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire, and ethical clearance was obtained from the institution. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21 (Released 2012; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States), employing both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results The prevalence of breakfast skipping among college-going students was 368 (68.2%). The timing of breakfast was a strong predictor; those eating after 10 AM had an adjusted odds ratio of 3.98 (95% CI: 1.65 - 9.61). The use of snacks as meal replacements also showed a significant association, with an odds ratio of 2.90 (95% CI: 1.95 - 4.32). Spending pocket money on breakfast was linked to an increased likelihood of skipping, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.251 (95% CI: 0.82 - 1.90). Conclusion This study shows that a higher proportion of college students skip their breakfast at least once a week. This study also showed that male gender, lower socioeconomic status, mealtime after 11 a.m., and snacking as a meal substitute more than four times a week are important risk factors for college students who were skipping breakfast. The results indicate that specific programs that encourage eating breakfast earlier and adopting healthy eating behavior may enhance student's general dietary habits.

Unfavorable Behaviors in Children Run in Packs! Dietary and Non-Dietary Modulators of Attentional Capacity

Children's cognitive performance can be influenced by behaviors such as eating breakfast in the morning. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the mediating effects of breakfast behavior and other lifestyle habits on eye-hand coordination and attention. In a secondary analysis of the CogniDROP study, children from the 5th and 6th grade of a comprehensive school in Germany (n  =  223) performed a simple computerized Visual Attention Task and answered a questionnaire about behavioral patterns, i.e., skipping breakfast on a school day, frequency of physical activity (PA) outside school, and nighttime sleep. An association matrix was constructed to show the relationship between the variables. Almost 11% of children left home in the morning without breakfast, more than 9.5% of children reported poor sleep quality, 24.9% slept less than the recommended 9 h, and girls were insufficiently physically active. Sleep duration, bedtime, and PA correlated with skipping breakfast. Better sleep quality was positively related to reaction time in the Visual Attention Task. Overall, the data suggest that unfavorable behaviors in children tend to run in packs, just as skipping breakfast in the morning seems to be associated with other unfavorable habits, which impairs children's eye-hand coordination and attention.

Breakfast consumption and its relationship with diet quality and adherence to Mediterranean diet in European adolescents: the HELENA study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the current study is to analyze the associations between breakfast consumption and adherence to diet quality index (DQI) and Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) in European adolescents.

METHODS

A multinational cross-sectional study was carried out in 1804 adolescents aged 12.5-17.5 years. The Food Choices and Preferences questionnaire was used to ascertain breakfast consumption (consumers, occasional consumers and skippers), and two non-consecutive 24 h dietary recalls were used to estimate the total daily intake and to calculate the subsequent DQI and MDS. Mixed linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between breakfast consumption and DQI-A and MDS. Age, maternal education, BMI, country and total energy intake were included as covariates.

RESULTS

In both sexes, significant differences were observed among the breakfast consumption categories. In both boys and girls, breakfast consumers had significantly higher DQI indices than those adolescents who skipped breakfast regularly (p < 0.001). Regarding total MDS, in both boys and girls, breakfast consumers had a higher total MDS than breakfast skippers (p < 0.001), however, no associations were shown between occasional breakfast consumers and DQI indices and MDS.

CONCLUSION

Breakfast consumption has been linked with better dietary quality scores compared with those children who usually skip breakfast. Promotion of regular breakfast consumption in adolescents could be an effective strategy to improve the overall diet quality.