Prevalence Of Breakfast Skipping Research Articles

IJCM_403A: Breakfast Skipping: Proportion and Awareness of its Effects Among Medical Students

Background: Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, providing essential nutrients and energy needed for daily activities. Skipping breakfast has been associated with various health complications, including impaired cognitive function and increased risk of chronic diseases. Understanding the prevalence and reasons behind breakfast skipping among medical students is crucial for promoting healthy habits and overall well-being. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the proportion of medical students skipping breakfast, assess awareness about the importance of breakfast consumption, and explore associated factors such as gender and academic semester. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical undergraduates at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 285 students from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year MBBS classes. Convenience sampling was used, and data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. Results: Of the 285 students surveyed, 53% reported skipping breakfast. Reasons for skipping included waking up late (77.48%), dissatisfaction with available food options (44.37%), and lack of appetite (21.85%). While most students were aware of the negative effects of breakfast skipping on cognitive function and mood, fewer recognized its association with cardiovascular problems and menstrual irregularities. Significant associations were found between breakfast skipping and academic semester, with 6th-semester students exhibiting the highest prevalence. However, no significant gender differences were observed. Conclusion: The study highlights a concerning prevalence of breakfast skipping among medical students, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to promote healthy breakfast habits.

Prevalence of Breakfast Skippers among Tunisian Preschool and School Children and Association with Weight Status: A Cross-Sectional Study

Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. This study aimed to assess breakfast frequency and quality in Tunisian children and to determine the relationship between breakfast skipping and the weight status of the children. A total of 1200 preschool and school children aged 3 to 9 years were randomly selected under a cross-sectional design. Breakfast habits and socio-economic characteristics were collected using a questionnaire. Participants who consumed breakfast less than five times the previous week were categorized as breakfast skippers. The other breakfast consumers were considered as non-skippers. The overall prevalence of breakfast skipping in Tunisian children was 8.3% and 83% of them consumed breakfast all the weekdays. At least two out of three children had a poor breakfast quality. Only 1% of children consumed breakfast in accordance with the composition guidelines. No relationships between breakfast skipping and weight status were detected in this study after adjustment for age, sex and all socio-economic factors (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.72-1.89, p = 0.541). Further school-based interventions should be implemented to improve breakfast quality and to promote a healthy weight in Tunisian children.

Breakfast skipping and its relationship with academic performance in Ethiopian school-aged children, 2019

Breakfast skipping and its relationship with academic achievement among primary school children were investigated in this study. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 848 primary school children. Breakfast skipping was analyzed using a 2-item questionnaire. A 19-item Social Academic and Emotional Behavior Risk Screening questionnaire was used to collect data on children’s behavior. The prevalence of breakfast skipping was found to be 38.1%. Living in a rural area (AOR = 5.2; 95% CI: 3.54, 7.71); having illiterate parents (AOR = 6.66; 95% CI 3.0, 14.7); having parents with a primary education level (AOR 5.18, 95% CI: 2.25, 11.94); living with guardians or other relatives (AOR = 4.06; 95%CI: 2.1, 7.9); and having lower academic achievement (AOR = 2.76; 95% CI: 1.44, 5.29) were factors associated with skipping breakfast.In conclusion, breakfast skipping has been identified as a significant public health concern that requires an immediate response from stakeholders. It is recommended to intervene based on the identified factors.

A study on breakfast consumption and skipping pattern among college students in Coimbatore

Background: Breakfast, an important meal in a day provides 1/3rd of the days’ requirement. Beyond satisfying hunger, breakfast improves both the health and cognitive ability of individual. This study aimed at exploring the breakfast consumption pattern, prevalence of skipping breakfast, reasons for skipping and perceptions toward this meal. The study also aimed to find a solution to reduce the prevalence of breakfast skipping. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 612 undergraduate students from four colleges comprising of 2 Engineering and 2 Arts and Science colleges in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. The questionnaire included socio-demographic, perception about each meal, reasons for skipping breakfast and their preference towards breakfast choices. Results: In a sample of 612 undergraduate students, 73 percent reported skipped any one of the meals, of which breakfast accounts to 66 percent. Though 59 per cent participants believed that breakfast is an essential meal contradictorily, they skip breakfast. Reasons for breakfast skipping were enlisted to be lack of time (37 per cent) followed by not feeling hungry, waking up late. About 86 per cent of the students showed a positive response towards the acceptance of Ready-To-Eat (RTE) breakfast due to lack of time in the morning. They expressed this kind of RTE will help them to consume breakfast regularly. Conclusion: Creating awareness on importance of breakfast alone would not contribute to reduce breakfast skipping. As preferred by the participants, development of affordable and available RTE (on-the-go meals) convenient foods would help them to consume it regularly thereby enhancing the nutritional and health status of the college students.

Prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents: a cross-sectional population level study

BackgroundInterventions to promote breakfast consumption are a popular strategy to address early life inequalities. It is important to understand the epidemiology of children and adolescents who skip breakfast so that interventions and policy can be appropriately considered. This study investigated the prevalence of breakfast skipping among a contemporary, population-wide sample of children and adolescents in Australia.MethodsParticipants were grade 4–12 students (n = 71,390, 8–18 years) in South Australian government (public) schools who took part in the 2019 Wellbeing and Engagement Collection. The prevalence of breakfast skipping (never, sometimes, often, or always) was calculated for the overall sample and stratified by gender, school grade, socioeconomic status and geographical remoteness. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the relative risk ratio of sometimes, often, and always skippers compared with never skippers, according to demographic characteristics.ResultsOverall, 55.0% of students reported never skipping breakfast, 17.4% reported sometimes skipping, 18.0% reported often skipping, and 9.5% reported always skipping breakfast. Skipping breakfast was more prevalent among females, students in senior grades, and those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged and regional and remote areas. Analyses disaggregated by gender revealed that grade level gradients in breakfast skipping were more marked among females compared to males.ConclusionsBreakfast skipping among children and adolescents appears considerably more prevalent than previous research suggests. Drivers of breakfast skipping across population sub-groups need to be explored to better inform strategies to promote breakfast consumption.

Food choices and dietary habits of college going girls with special emphasis on breakfast consumption practices

Choosing nutritious foods, eating mindfully and planning appropriate meals while eating; are the important components which make a significant impact on one's well-being. The choice of whether and what to eat and drink first thing in the morning has been demonstrated to have a significant impact on our health, well-being and cognitive abilities. Breakfast is widely regarded as the most vital meal of the day. A nutritious breakfast ensures the best day possible in the long run of day-to-day life. Human body organs burn around 400 to 500 calories during the night during sleep for seven to eight hours. Breakfast skipping has become common practice in recent years for a variety of reasons. Sadly, this practise gives rise to a variety of diseases and conditions in long term, including weight gain, heart disease, bone thinning, irritability, mood swings, low energy, poor memory, mental stress, high blood pressure, and an unhealthy mix of blood cholesterol. Several studies have looked at the relationship between lifestyle choices (such as skipping breakfast) and health outcomes. College students, especially young girls were shown to be more likely to skip breakfast. This not only increases negative health impact, but also lowers the quality of one's food, sleeping pattern and degree of physical activity. The objective of the study was to assess the socio-demographic profile, dietary and lifestyle pattern of the college going girls and to identify the probable causes of faulty dietary habits, if any, with special emphasis on their breakfast consumption. 850 subjects were selected randomly from the two colleges of the Ghaziabad. Results indicated that 63% (n=536) were found to be skipping breakfast. Factors significantly associated with breakfast skipping were age, average family income (monthly), parental education, time spent in commutation to college, contribution to house hold work. The most common reason cited for skipping breakfast were lack of time, not liking to eat so early, having no appetite. The prevalence of breakfast skipping among the college going girls was moderately high. Lower nutrition knowledge could be associated with the above findings. Thus, nutritional interventions to impart education at college level can be an effective tool, as adolescents/young adults spend most of the time here. It is strongly recommended that this age group especially college going girls should be educated and made aware of healthy breakfast eating practices and good nutrition patterns for healthy lifestyle and thus contribute towards healthy nation.

EFFECT OF BREAKFAST SKIPPING ON BODY MASS INDEX ADOLESCENT UNIVERSITY GIRLS

ABSTRACT
 BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Breakfast is considered as important meal of the day and it should provide 25 % of total energy intake including all five food groups. Breakfast skipping is common in adolescents and it is associated with changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive abilities. Breakfast skipping enhances appetite throughout the remaining day which leads to over eating resulting in overweight and obesity. Addition of breakfast is useful plan of action to improve satiety, reduced food motivation and improve diet quality. Eating breakfast regularly has association between both with less mental distress and healthy life style. For this purpose, this study was designed to determine the prevalence of breakfast skipping in adolescent’s university girls and its effect on their Body Mass Index (BMI).
 METHODOLOGY: For the current research, 200 individuals were selected from different departments of The University of Faisalabad. Questionnaire was developed and height, weight and dietary history were measured. The data obtained from the study was tabulated and statistically analyzed by applying Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Least Significant Difference (LSD).
 RESULTS: Skipping of breakfast has significant effect on increasing the Body Mass Index (BMI) in university adolescent girls.
 CONCLUSION: Breakfast skipping resulted in increased BMI in university adolescent girls.

The Prevalence of Breakfast Skipping and its Association with Lifestyle Factors and Weight in 11-15 years Adolescents from Selected Lebanese Regions

The Prevalence of Breakfast Skipping and its Association with Lifestyle Factors and Weight in 11-15 years Adolescents from Selected Lebanese Regions

The Prevalence of Breakfast Skipping and its Association with Lifestyle Factors and Weight in 11-15 years Adolescents from Selected Lebanese Regions

Studies have shown that frequent breakfast skipping is associated to overweight and obesity problems. The habit of skipping breakfast is increasing among adolescents. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of breakfast skipping among adolescents living in Lebanon. Data was collected from 404 adolescents, located in three Lebanese districts. Anthropometric measurements through calibrated equipments and dietary intake were collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), sociodemographic and lifestyle information were obtained by a pre-tested questionnaire, in addition BMI for age was used to determine obesity. Linear and ANOVA regressions were used to assess the association between breakfast and BMI-for-age. Six definitions of breakfast skipping were used and the prevalence varied between 8.4% and 42.8%. Linear regression was used to test the association between breakfast skipping and BMI for age. Skipping breakfast was correlated with school type, parental preparation of food, sleeping duration, milk consumption and eating meals. The association between breakfast and BMI-for-age could not be settled due to the absence of a standard definition of breakfast skipping. Our findings could not confirm a relation between breakfast and BMI-for-age. Nevertheless, skipping breakfast was related to many factors. Encouraging breakfast could be efficient for the enhancement of health. New research could be settled to find reasons for obesity and to limit its impact on adolescents living in Lebanon.

Relationship between Breakfast Skipping and Prediabetes Risk in Non-Diabetic Adults

Background: Breakfast skipping may lead to an increase in appetite, and possibly lead to obesity and deleterious changes in risk factors associated with chronic diseases. This study was aimed to analyze the association between breakfast skipping and prediabetes in non-diabetic Korean subjects. Methods: We analyzed a representative sample of 7,936 adults using data from the 2011–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Based on the eating behavior questionnaire, we classified our study participants into two groups; participants who skipped breakfast in the last two days were classified as breakfast skippers, and those who had breakfast at least once in the last two days were classified as breakfast eaters. Prediabetes was defined as a fasting glucose level of 100–125 mg/dL or hemoglobin A1c level of 5.7%–6.4%, in accordance with the American Diabetes Association guidelines. Results: In our study participants, the prevalence of breakfast skipping was 12.0% (n=950). After adjusting for potential confounding factors such as body mass index and lifestyle-related factors, participants who skipped breakfast were observed to have a higher risk of prediabetes than participants who consumed breakfast (odds ratio=1.256, 95% confidence interval 1.043–1.511). Conclusion: Breakfast skipping was associated with a higher risk of prediabetes. Large cohort studies are needed to further investigate the importance of breakfast consumption in the prevention of diabetes.

The economic burden of breakfast skipping in Mexico

Background and objectivesRecent data from the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey in Mexico showed that 18% of 5 to 14 year old children skipped breakfast. Breakfast skipping is associated with higher odds of overweight and obesity, lower nutrient adequacy, lower cognitive performance (such as memory and attention), and lower academic achievement (such as school performance). These outcomes are, in turn, directly linked to social economic losses; however, no previous study has assessed the economic impact of breakfast skipping in Mexico. The aim of this study was to estimate the economic burden of breakfast skipping related to lower cognitive performance and academic achievement.MethodsThe following data were used: the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey (prevalence of breakfast skipping and school attendance), literature review of published peer‐reviewed articles examining the effect of breakfast skipping on cognition and school performance, in addition to economic data (local wages, expected economic growth, and returns on education in Mexico). A mathematical model was developed following a health economic approach in school‐aged children through human capital accumulation to estimate the losses of breakfast skipping. Lower school performance and cognitive outcomes were assumed to impact future child wages throughout their adult working life. The future production losses were discounted to estimate the net present value.ResultsPreliminary results showed that the annual economic burden from breakfast skipping in Mexico in children 5 to 14 years old in 2015 was 4 billion US dollars or 6.7 billon purchasing power parity US dollars. This figure is equivalent to 0.3% of the Mexican Gross Domestic Product. On average each child who regularly skipped breakfast had an estimated loss of 1’150 USD; 987 USD due to lower school performance and 163 USD due to years of school lost. A reduction of the breakfast skipping rate of 1% in children aged 5 to 14 years old would bring an annual economic social benefit of 240 million USD due to its impact on cognitive outcomes and academic achievement.ConclusionThe model shows that small reductions of breakfast skipping rates could have a positive economic impact for society. These results only represent a partial benefit as reduction of breakfast skipping could also be associated with higher micronutrient adequacy and lower overweight rates in both childhood and adulthood which could bring additional economic and health benefits.Support or Funding InformationNestlé Research Center