Having Breakfast is Beneficial to Students' Wellbeing

Abstract

Background: Few studies were conducted on the covariates of having breakfast among young adults. The present study examined the association of having breakfast with other health behaviors, alertness, mood, and achievement (=grades) among students. Methods: 213 students (mean age=25) filled an online cross-sectional survey. Having breakfast was the independent variable, and other health behaviors (not drinking sweet beverages, exercising, fruit and vegetables intake), alertness (10 items, ?=.90), mood (10 items, ? =.86), and mean grade were the dependent variables. Age and parental SES were recorded. Results: Students who ate breakfast engaged significantly more in other health behaviors, had better mood, and reported higher mean grades. There was no difference between the two groups in alertness. Conclusions: The study is first on reporting higher reported grades among students eating breakfast and joins other findings in the literature demonstrating the beneficial covariates of having breakfast among young adults, thus extending the findings from children and adolescents to adults.