Breakfast Consumption Pattern and Its Association With Overweight and Obesity Among University Students: A Population-Based Study Publisher Pubmed



Mansouri M¹ ; Hasaniranjbar S² ; Yaghubi H³ ; Rahmani J⁴ ; Tabrizi YM⁵ ; Keshtkar A⁶ ; Varmaghani M⁷ ; Sharifi F⁸ ; Sadeghi O^{9, 10}
Source: Eating and Weight Disorders Published:2020

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the association between breakfast consumption habit and overweight and obesity in a sample of Iranian university students. Methods: A sample of 78,905 university students, aged 18 years or older, was recruited from 28 provinces in Iran to assess breakfast consumption pattern. Breakfast consumption habit was evaluated using a pre-tested questionnaire. Weight and height were measured using standard protocol and then body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Overweight (obesity included) and obesity were defined as BMI ≥ 25 and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, respectively. Results: Mean age of participants was 21.50 ± 4.01. After controlling for potential confounders, participants who ate breakfast > 4 days/week had 15% lower risk of overweight compared with those who ate < 1 day/week (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.78–0.92). Such significant association was also seen in female students (OR: 0.82, 95% CI 0.72–0.93); however, it was marginally significant in male ones (OR: 0.89, 95% CI 0.79–1.00). In addition, a significant inverse association was found between breakfast consumption and obesity (OR: 0.74, 95% CI 0.64–0.85) such that after adjusting for potential confounders, students who consumed breakfast > 4 days/week were 33% less likely to be obese compared with those who consumed it < 1 day/week (OR: 0.67, 95% CI 0.57–0.78). Such significant inverse association was also seen in either gender. Conclusions: Breakfast consumption was inversely associated with odds of overweight and obesity in university students. Level of evidence: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive studies. © 2018, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.