A Study of Determinants of Obesity - Is Skipping Breakfast Meal a Risk Factor?

Abstract

BACKGROUND Breakfast is an important meal since it refuels the body after long night fasting. Regular intake of breakfast must have favourable supply of both micronutrients and macronutrients to maintain a body mass index (BMI) in the normal range. Despite its importance, the rate of skipping breakfast is observed to be alarmingly increasing among medical students. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to understand the dietary patterns, and physical activity level, and analyse the association of skipping breakfast with obesity among medical students. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 174 medical undergraduate students aged between 18 and 23 years in a tertiary care teaching hospital from August 2019 to October 2019. A pretested, semi-structured, validated, self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the profile, physical activity, food consumption pattern, and perception about the importance of breakfast meal. Regression analysis was done. Odds ratio was calculated. RESULTS About 23.6 % and 27 % of the study participants were found to be overweight and obese respectively. Only 51.1 % of study participants were involved in physical activity. 17.2 % of medical students skipped their breakfast regularly and 71.6 % were aware that skipping breakfast would affect work efficacy and span of concentration. Age group of 22 – 23 years (OR: 19.5, 95 % CI; 2.08, 183.70) was significantly associated with obesity. Skipping breakfast (OR, 0.45, 95 % CI: 0.23, 0.90) was not found to be associated with obesity. CONCLUSIONS Our study found that more than one fourth participants were obese and one third were skipping breakfast daily or more than thrice a week. There was no association between obesity and skipping of breakfast meal. However, the importance of breakfast meal in a day cannot be ignored. Awareness programs to practice healthy eating habits might help in prevention of obesity and overweight among students. KEY WORDS Breakfast, Exercise, Obesity, Body Mass Index, Students, Medical