Breakfast skipping, late dinner intake and chronotype (eveningness-morningness) among medical students in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia

Mar 11, 2020The Pan African medical journal

Skipping Breakfast, Eating Late Dinners, and Morning-Evening Preferences in Medical Students from Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

42% of medical students reported skipping breakfast, while 49.7% consumed dinner late.

Breakfast skipping and late dinner consumption are common habits among Saudi medical students.
No significant correlation was observed between meal timing habits and academic performance (GPA).
Chronotype, determined by sleep patterns, showed no significant differences related to breakfast or dinner habits.
The study involved 169 clinical phase medical students with an average age of 22.90 years.

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INTRODUCTION: There is an increasing awareness regarding meal timing and chronotype. The present study aimed to assess breakfast skipping, late dinner intake, and chronotype among Saudi medical students.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 169 clinical phase medical students during the period from January to May 2017. A self-administered questionnaire was used to report the frequency and timing of breakfast and dinner. In addition, the previous cumulative grade average, bedtime, wake-up time, and sleep duration during working days and weekends were reported. The chronotype was calculated from mid-sleep and wakeup time during weekends and sleep dept. The student's weight and height were measured to assess the body mass index (BMI). Participants also completed a diary detailing their sleep habits for two weeks before filling out the questionnaire. The chi-square and Pearson's correlation were used for the statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Out of 169 medical students (48.5% males), their age was 22.90±1.27 years, 42% were breakfast-skippers, while 49.7% were late dinner consumers. No correlation was found between the previous cumulative grades (GPA), BMI, chronotype, and time lag in wakeup and bedtime between weekdays and weekends (p>0.005). No significant statistical differences between breakfast-skippers and late dinner consumers and their counterparts regarding GPA and chronotype.

CONCLUSION: Breakfast skipping and late dinner consumption were prevalent among medical students in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, future large sample case-control studies to assess the impact of meal timing, and chronotype on academic performance are highly recommended.

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Breakfast skipping, late dinner intake and chronotype (eveningness-morningness) among medical students in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia

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