Association of Breakfast Eating Habits with Cognitive Functions among Nursing Students of Rawalpindi and Islamabad

Abstract

Background: Breakfast is an important meal of the day that is essential to provide required nutrients and energ for the daily activities. Cognitive functioning of a person can be greatly affected by the intake of breakfast. Healthy and regular intake of breakfast is essential for cognitive development, mental functioning and physical strength of the individual. Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the breakfast eating patterns of nursing students as well as their cognitive functioning. Moreover, association between breakfast eating habits and cognitive functioning was also determined. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study, carried out at nursing school of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A total of 400 nursing students were selected through simple random sampling. Mood, Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and Attention, two minutes’ test were used to determine the cognitive function of the respondents. Pearson Chi –Square test was applied to examine the association of cognitive function with breakfast eating habits. P value less than 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: More than half of the study population consisted of female students (n= 256, 64%), nearly 87% students (n= 351) lies within 16-25 years of age group. It was found that 69% respondents (n= 278) reported occasionally taking healthy food while 14% students (n= 54) reported repeatedly taking unhealthy meals. Nearly 77% respondents (n= 309) reported moderate levels of breakfast eating habits; neither good nor bad. Majority of the respondents reported a moderate level of cognitive function (n= 287, 72%). A significant association was found between cognitive function and breakfast eating habits, number of siblings, BMI, and year of study (p value<0.05). v Conclusion: It was found that good breakfast eating habits can help to improve cognitive function of students. Moreover, respondents reported moderate levels of cognitive functioning and moderate levels of breakfast eating habits. Keywords: Breakfast, Cognitive function, Healthy eating, Islamabad, Nursing students, Rawalpindi.