The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between breakfast and undergraduate academic performance. This study conducted based on the previous research that only concerning on school students, but little research has been done on college students. Fifty two undergraduate students from International Islamic University Malaysia were responded to and completed a web- based survey. Questionnaires in the survey were adapted from Staub (2000). Participants had to rate their academic performance in a particular area such alertness, participation, attention, mood, taking note and the level of anxiety before test. The survey also asked the Cumulative Grade Point Average to find the correlation between breakfast and academic achievement of students. The results found that breakfast eater correlated with mood and note taking in the class and students who took breakfast more likely to have good rate in CGPA. SPSS have been used to analyze the result. The result suggested that, breakfast may be considered as healthy life style and it can be platform to help students in maintaining their learning strategies.
Keywords: Breakfast, academic performance, academic achievement,
INTRODUCTION
Breakfast has been considered as the important meal to begin the day. Majority of parents and educators preferred their child and students to take breakfast to enhance their academic’s performance. Breakfast can be defined as, first meal of the day, taken before or at the start of daily activities, usually not later than 10.00 a.m (Giovannini et. al. 2008). According to Robinson, (1968), Burton, (1976) Wells, (1981) “The concern is based on the common belief that mental and physical performance are below optimal by mid-morning if no breakfa...
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The intake of proper nutrients helps balance the maintenance of bodily functions; supporting the longevity of a healthy lifestyle. (Denton, Carolyn. “How does food Impact Health?” www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu). With constant technological advance in the world, it is important to become aware of how frequent the world changes daily in preparation for self-maturity. What is a more effective way to approach the real world than to have a direct experience? The researcher will address the topic on why community high schools in America should allow its students off campus during lunch. Allowing children to have a better lunch option could help educational strength as well as attend to other essential needs. (Anderson, Melinda. “Do healthy lunches
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Education plays a dominant role in the lives of students throughout the United States. Since most students spend roughly eight to twelve hours in school, it is important to make sure that they are provided with a healthy and nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack. Unfortunately, in today’s society, school administrators focus heavily on standardized test scores and school rankings, thus adding more pressure on students and teachers. This being said, schools have begun to focus on providing healthy foods because they help increase a person’s cognitive and critical thinking ability. It is seen that nutrition plays a great role in students’ performance on exams and physical activity due to the correlation between school provided meals and low student performance on tests.
Thompson, P. M., Vidal, C., Giedd, J. N., Gochman, P., Blumenthal, J., Nicolson, R., Toga, A. W., &
Assurance for students and others concerned regarding the breakfast program mostly relies around the time consuming aspect of the program. An article in American Teacher stated that in many schools teachers expressed concerns about the logistics of the program, inc...
Breakfast is one of the best ways to recharge your batteries. It is a perfect time to boost your energy. Studies also suggest that eating a healthy breakfast improves brain function particularly memory and recall. This is essential for soaking up new knowledge and applying it later for a big test. Research shows that eating a healthy breakfast improves one academically. Scientists believe it may be because breakfast supplies nutrients to the nervous system to rev up brain power. Breakfast skippers tend to weigh more than those who eat breakfast regularly. Also, those who eat a morning meal tend to make healthier food choices throughout the day, which can positively impact weight and long-term health. Encourage eating breakfast daily at home or school and make it easy and
The benefits of good nutrition are important for everyone at home and at work. Good health begins with a good breakfast. People who have a morning meal are more likely to take in more vitamins and minerals, and much less fat and cholesterol. (WebMD, 2008) The effect is often a leaner body and less chance of overeating and going to the vending machine during work hours. Researchers at the 2003 American Heart Association conference reported that breakfast eaters have a lower chance of being obese and getting diabetes. Another study in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition concluded that people that eat breakfast cereal daily feel better both physically and mentally compared to the people who almost never ate cereal for breakfast. A Web MD article explains “To get the full benefits of breakfast, the Mayo Clinic recommends a meal with carbohydrates, protein, and a small amount of fat. They say that because no single food gives you all of the nutrients you need, eating a variety of foods is essential to good health.” Even if an employee does not have time to eat before work, because they are rushing to be on time or their morning consists of dealing with children, bringing a breakfast that they can eat as soon as they get to work would be a healthy habit to get into. Multi- tasking is possible when eating cereal, fruit and nuts at the same time as checking voicemail or emails. Good nutrition needs to continue throughout the day. Fruits and vegetables, healthy snacks, drinking water or tea to stay hydrated, and eating dairy products all add to well-balanced meals. For example, eating healthy dinners with fish two times a week can vastly improve a person’s well-being because fish has omega 3 fatty acids.
According to the United States Census Bureau, there are approximately 250 million people in the United States. Having knowledge that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, 35-40 percent of Americans skip breakfast. Without breakfast, some people become less able to do physical work in the late morning hours and some students do not perform well in the classroom. When one skips breakfast, their body shuts down their metabolism in an attempt to preserve what it contains, which causes drowsiness. Since metabolism accounts for approximately 70 percent of the body’s energy expenditure, the consumption of a healthy first meal of the day is encouraged. There are many reasons why breakfast should be a part of people’s everyday diet, but some people just do not have time to eat breakfast.