Factors associated with breakfast skipping and AHB skipping among adolescent Saudi girls in Tabuk city, Saudi Arabia
Publication Date
December 15, 2022
Creator
Abstract
Background:
There is clear evidence for the importance of eating at breakfast time for both physical and psychological health in all ages, but particularly in young people, where the impact on educational attainment has also been highlighted. However, there is clear evidence across a number of cultures that breakfast is skipped regularly by adolescents, in particular. The reasons for this are likely to be complex and are not fully understood. Whilst skipping is seen in many societies and some common drivers such as education levels of the parents, peer pressure, socioeconomic status have been identified, there are also likely to be strong cultural elements, meaning that such research must be firmly embedded within a defined culture to gain a complete understanding of the issues involved. Therefore, this study was conducted amongst adolescent girls in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia.
Aim:
To estimate breakfast skipping and AHB skipping rate and explore the reasons and factors behind this practice among adolescents’ females’ students aged 16-18 years old in Tabuk city
Methodology and Methods:
The study used a mixed method sequential design in order to identify the rates of breakfast through quantitative approaches and then to explore the reasons for skipping using a qualitative approach. Initially, 617 adolescent girls aged between 16 and 18 were recruited for the study from 3 Schools. Each was asked to complete a short questionnaire that explored their consumption behaviour around breakfast time. FGD interviews were achieved with 6 FGDs (3 groups of students known as Breakfast skippers and AHB skippers; and 3 groups of students' mothers whose daughters are AHB and breakfast skippers) to explore the motives and causes for skipping breakfast meal, along with viewpoints on the relevance and awareness of the breakfast meal among the girls.
Findings:
Using internationally standardised definition of breakfast skipping as being – a lack of breakfast consumption on 4/7 days per week, it was found that 31.8% of girls fell into the category of breakfast skippers with 48.8 % identified as at home breakfast (AHB) skippers. The survey identified that age, friend's behaviour, knowledge about breakfast importance and poor food choices such as tea consumption are significantly associated with both breakfast skipping and AHB skipping. Also, residential status was significantly associated with breakfast skipping. Breakfast skipping was linked to causes such as a loss of appetite, a poor sleeping schedule, and frequent night–time mobile use, according to FGDs.
Discussions:
The main sociocultural factors for school girls skipping breakfast were a lack of dietary awareness about breakfast, a desire for lunch and snacking, and the imitation of their parents' and friends' breakfast skipping behaviour. Saudi mothers have blamed their daughters' breakfast skipping on a lack of dietary awareness, parental management challenges, teen autonomy, Saudi society, and the power of social media and smart devices. AHB is often skipped due to mother's work schedules and a lack of time to prepare breakfast. Furthermore, the unhealthy school food and environment led to students' skipping breakfast.
Conclusions:
The results obtained from this study were valuable to stakeholders in the education as well as nutrition sectors as they seek to deal with the situation. Also, the study offered a representative picture of breakfast-related habits of adolescents and represents a basis for designing and implementing appropriate measures in order to promote dietary education and health in adolescents.
Item Type
ethesis
Thesis Type
PhD
Supervisors
Subjects (LC)
Associated Schools / Departments
School of Health Sciences
eprints ID
71111
UoN Repository URI
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