Author(s): Yashi Gupta and Dr. Shabnam Chhabra

Abstract:
Choosing nutritious foods, eating mindfully and planning appropriate meals while eating; are the important components which make a significant impact on one's well-being. The choice of whether and what to eat and drink first thing in the morning has been demonstrated to have a significant impact on our health, well-being and cognitive abilities. Breakfast is widely regarded as the most vital meal of the day. A nutritious breakfast ensures the best day possible in the long run of day-to-day life. Human body organs burn around 400 to 500 calories during the night during sleep for seven to eight hours. Breakfast skipping has become common practice in recent years for a variety of reasons. Sadly, this practise gives rise to a variety of diseases and conditions in long term, including weight gain, heart disease, bone thinning, irritability, mood swings, low energy, poor memory, mental stress, high blood pressure, and an unhealthy mix of blood cholesterol. Several studies have looked at the relationship between lifestyle choices (such as skipping breakfast) and health outcomes. College students, especially young girls were shown to be more likely to skip breakfast. This not only increases negative health impact, but also lowers the quality of one's food, sleeping pattern and degree of physical activity. The objective of the study was to assess the socio-demographic profile, dietary and lifestyle pattern of the college going girls and to identify the probable causes of faulty dietary habits, if any, with special emphasis on their breakfast consumption. 850 subjects were selected randomly from the two colleges of the Ghaziabad. Results indicated that 63% (n=536) were found to be skipping breakfast. Factors significantly associated with breakfast skipping were age, average family income (monthly), parental education, time spent in commutation to college, contribution to house hold work. The most common reason cited for skipping breakfast were lack of time, not liking to eat so early, having no appetite. The prevalence of breakfast skipping among the college going girls was moderately high. Lower nutrition knowledge could be associated with the above findings. Thus, nutritional interventions to impart education at college level can be an effective tool, as adolescents/young adults spend most of the time here. It is strongly recommended that this age group especially college going girls should be educated and made aware of healthy breakfast eating practices and good nutrition patterns for healthy lifestyle and thus contribute towards healthy nation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/23957476.2022.v8.i1c.1252