Abstract
Eating breakfast provides crucial nutrition for brain function and helps promote overall health. It is especially critical in growing adolescents, as it is known to form good eating habits and better study habits. This study investigated the effects of skipping breakfast on nutritional state, fatigue level, and attention level. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2010 on total of 828 adolescents composed of 414 boys and 414 girls. Students who ate breakfast never to twice per week were placed in the breakfast-skipper group while students who ate breakfast more than five times per week were included in the breakfast-eater group. Students performed a self-reported questionnaire on food behaviors, amount of food consumption, fatigue level, attention deficient hyperactivity disease (ADHD) level by Conners-Wells' Adolescent Self-Report Scales, depression scale, and self-esteem level. Statistical analysis was conducted using the SAS program (version 9.1). A total of 135 boys (32.6%) and 138 girls (33.3%) were included in the breakfast-skipper group, whereas 241 boys (58.2%) and 223 girls (53.9%) were included in the breakfast-eater group. The breakfast-skipper group showed irregular food behaviors and lacked nutrients. Specifically, energy (p< .001), protein (p< .001), dietary fiber (p< .001), calcium (p< .01), vitamin A (p< .01), thiamin (p< .05), niacin (p< .001) levels in boy breakfast-skippers were statistically lower compared to boy breakfast-eaters. Intakes of all nutrients except fat in girl breakfast-skippers were statistically lower than in girl breakfast-eaters. Girl breakfast-skippers (41.3%) showed significantly higher fatigue risks compared to girl breakfast-eaters (21.5%). Low attention level was also observed only in girls in the breakfast-skipping group. Moreover, students in the breakfast-skipper group showed higher scores for depression and low self-esteem (p< .001). In conclusion, skipping breakfast has effects on young adolescents' nutrition, manifesting as high fatigue level and low attention level, especially in girls.
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