Breakfast Eating Habits and their Association with Academic Performance: A Cross-sectional Study among Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction: Breakfast has long been considered the most important meal of the day, yet the frequency of breakfast consumption has declined in recent decades. Adequate breakfast habits are related to optimal physiological, psychological, and social health. Aim: To assess the breakfast eating habits of medical students and find the association between breakfast habits and academic performance. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was carried out in the Department of Physiology at Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati (SHKM) Government Medical College, Nuh, Haryana, India. The duration of the study was three months from July 2022 to September 2022. A total of 350 apparently healthy medical undergraduates from the second year to final year participated in the study. Breakfast eating patterns and other characteristics of the morning meal consumed by participants were assessed using a structured proforma. Participants were divided into three groups (regular, irregular, and skippers) based on the frequency of breakfast consumption. Academic performance was assessed based on the aggregate marks (%) obtained in the university examination. Data were compiled and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare academic performance (% marks) among the breakfast groups, and the relationship between the aforementioned variables was determined using Pearson’s Chi-square test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 20.95±1.10 years. Present study showed that only around one-third, 121 (34.6%) students ate breakfast regularly (6-7 days/week), while the remaining either consumed it irregularly or skipped it altogether. A significant association (p=0.02) was found between breakfast habits and academic performance, with regular breakfast eaters performing better compared to skippers. Conclusion: Irregular consumption of breakfast is quite prevalent among medical students. Poor time management emerged as the main reason for this behaviour. Breakfast habits may influence academic performance, but it warrants further investigation using a multivariate approach.