Roselynn Chai Rou Xin, Wong Mei Wei, Daniel Low Qien Wey, Gareth Kam Chee Hoong
HELP College of Arts & Technology
Introduction
Background Information
What is breakfast? Breakfast is commonly known as the first meal of the day and it serves as the fuel and energy booster to our body as refreshment after our long fasting during sleep time.
Breakfast has been described as the most important meal of the day, contributing substantially to daily nutrient intake and energy needs. In fact, the nutritional impact of breakfast appears to be very positive (Rogers, 1997) as brain functioning is sensitive to short-term changes in the availability of nutrient supplies (Pollitt, 1995).
Although not all studies associated breakfast skipping with overweight, breakfast eaters generally consumed more daily calories yet were less likely to be overweight; breakfast as a part of a healthful diet and lifestyle can positively impact children’s health and well-being (Rampersaud, 2005) and its quality is an important component in the complex interaction between lifestyle factors and mental health in early adolescence (O’Sullivan, 2009).
Besides, breakfast consumption may improve cognitive function related to memory, test grades, and school attendance (Rampersaud, 2005) via several mechanisms, including an increase in blood glucose (Benton, 1998). Breakfast have positive short-term effects on cognitive functioning and self-reported alertness in high school students; male students reported feeling more positive after consuming breakfast, compared with the fasting condition (Katharina, 2008).
Despite the importance of breakfast consumption, the amounts of breakfast skipping in adolescence are increasing nowadays. With the reasons of dissatisfaction with their body shape and to have been on a diet to lose weight, females’ skipping at over three times the rate of males (Shaw, 1998). Shaw also reported that lack of time
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