Prevalence and Determinants of Breakfast Omission: A Study of Undergraduates in Sri Lanka

Breakfast is an important constituent of any person's daily food concerto. It contributes to provide the base of nourishment for the entire day. Skipping the breakfast directly affects to health, performance, satisfaction and too many physical and psychological matters of a person. The university arenas represent the final opportunity of health and nutritional education for a large number of young undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Thus, this study was conducted with the purpose of investigating the prevalence & determinants of breakfast omission of undergraduates in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted as a cross sectional field study among a sample of 502 undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Convenience sampling was applied to select the sample and investigation was carried out in all the faculties of four public universities in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Self administered, pre - tested questionnaire which met the accepted standards of validity and reliability was used to collect data. It is found that prevalence of breakfast omission is high among Sri Lankan undergraduates thought it is understood that omission of breakfast affects to undergraduates' health status and ultimately to the academic performance. Findings revealed that accommodation, frequency of skipping the dinner, fast food habits, academic year, daily academic time table, smoking and financial difficulties are significantly affect to omit the breakfast. Undergraduates stay in own houses are less likely to omit the breakfast in comparison to those who stay in hostels and bodings. Third years and final years are more prone to omit the breakfast while smokers are less likely to omit. No significant relationship is found between gender, consumption of nutritional supplements, time taken for traveling and ethnic group with prevalence of breakfast omission. Health awareness programs or education of healthy eating guidelines must be initiated for both undergraduates and food caters in Sri Lankan universities. The quality and price of supplied foods in state universities must also be frequently reviewed.