Introduction: Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day. Evidence suggests that breakfast contributes to wellbeing in a number of areas. First, it is a central component of nutritional wellbeing, contributing to total daily energy and nutrient intake. Nearly 15% of college girls rarely or never ate breakfast, and those who ate breakfast almost every day (and did not often eat between meals) reported slightly but significantly better physical health than skippers. Eating breakfast is important for the health and development of young women. From clinical experience, there is great evidence that the frequency of irregular menstruation and intensity of dysmenorrhea was increased in young women, who were currently skipping meals, suggesting that diet in adolescence has long-lasting adverse effects on reproductive function in young women. Menstrual disorders frequently affect the quality of life of adolescents and young adult women. Breakfast as a part of healthful diet and lifestyle can positively impact children’s and young adults’ health and wellbeing. Daily eating habits significantly influence menstrual function in young women. We conducted the study to explore the association of skipping breakfast on menstruation. Objectives • To find out the proportion of girls with menstrual irregularity in those skipping breakfast; • To find out effect of breakfast skipping on menstruation among girls of age group 17–22 years. Method and Material: A cross-sectional study was used. The studied sample consisted of 90 female students of a selected college of Bhopal city. Data were collected by using an interviewing questionnaire. Analysis of the findings was done using Epi Info 7 software. Results: Mean age of the study participants was 20+3.66 years. Out of 90 students, 82% were found to have been skipping breakfast for more than 3 days a week. The study also revealed that dysmenorrhea was more in girls who skipped breakfast than in those who had breakfast (P=0.0001). Conclusion: From the above finding, we can conclude that episodes of dysmenorrhea occurred more in female students who skipped the breakfast meal more than those who took breakfast regularly.
[1]
R. Nakata,et al.
Skipping breakfast is associated with reproductive dysfunction in post-adolescent female college students
,
2010,
Appetite.
[2]
H. Sakamoto,et al.
Skipping breakfast adversely affects menstrual disorders in young college students
,
2009,
International journal of food sciences and nutrition.
[3]
D. Katzman,et al.
Eating Disorders and Menstrual Dysfunction in Adolescents
,
2008,
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
[4]
T. Fujiwara.
Diet during adolescence is a trigger for subsequent development of dysmenorrhea in young women
,
2007,
International journal of food sciences and nutrition.
[5]
T. Fujiwara.
Skipping breakfast is associated with dysmenorrhea in young women in Japan
,
2003,
International journal of food sciences and nutrition.
[6]
A. Bendich.
The Potential for Dietary Supplements to Reduce Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) Symptoms
,
2000,
Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
[7]
K. Pirke,et al.
Everyday eating behavior and menstrual function in young women.
,
1992,
Fertility and sterility.
[8]
Saira Dars,et al.
Relationship of menstrual irregularities to BMI and nutritional status in adolescent girls
,
1969,
Pakistan journal of medical sciences.
[9]
Hayam Fathy A. Eittah.
Effect of breakfast skipping on young females menstruation
,
2014
.
[10]
M. Shaw.
Adolescent breakfast skipping: an Australian study.
,
1998,
Adolescence.