The Status of Breakfast Consumption in Seventh Female Students of High Schools and its Relation with Body Mass Index, Self-directed Learning and Educational Status of Tabriz, Iran (2018).

Abstract

Abstract: Background and objectives: Desirable nutrition and breakfast eating play a major role in the nutritional needs of students and are ignored by children and adolescents more than other meals. Considering that nutrition is a key factor in students' growth, health, and academic success, breakfast as a main meal plays a significant role in the nutritional status and improvement of brain function in adolescents, especially female adolescents who will be the future mothers. The regional investigation of the breakfast consumption status with the presentation of some strategies seems to reduce the chronic diseases in the future and increase the growth and learning rate in adolescents; therefore, the present research was conducted with the aim to investigate the breakfast consumption status and its relationship with body mass index, self-directed learning and academic status among adolescent girls in Tabriz. Method: It was a descriptive-cross-sectional study conducted using a simple random sampling method among 700 students at 7th grade of girls' high schools in the five districts of Tabriz. The study instruments included the 14-item questionnaire of monthly breakfast and snack consumption frequency and food consumption pattern for breakfast and breakfast snack, and the 40-item questionnaire of self-directed learning. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS21 software in the descriptive and inferential form. Results: The average total food consumption was 138.55±111.8 units, weekly breakfast consumption was 52.60±26.4 units, body mass index score was 21.12±4.2, self-directed learning score was 162.89±24.8, and academic GPA was 18.03±1.8. The results of the Spearman correlation statistical test showed that the breakfast consumption frequency has a significant reverse relationship with body mass index and a significant relationship with the mid-term exam score, and a significant direct relationship with self-directed learning score (p<0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: The students who regularly consume breakfast have a natural body mass index and high rate of learning and academic success; therefore, the breakfast consumption is an effective and useful factor for health improvement and healthy eating style in adolescents, especially adolescent girls. In general, the results indicate that nutrition in schools had better be accompanied by a healthy breakfast program.