Breakfast Consumption and Academic Performance
in College Students
Jacquelyn Kruse and Esther Fahm, Ph.D., RD,
Food and Nutrition Department, University of Wisconsin-Stout
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
METHODOLOGY
ANALYSIS
Breakfast consumption and diet quality has been
positively correlated with academic performance in school
children ages 5-18. There are few studies which examine
this relationship in college students.
Students at least 18 years old enrolled in the spring 2011
semester of FN-102 Nutrition for Healthy Living at the
University of Wisconsin-Stout were asked to participate.
The data from the food recall section of the survey will be
entered into Food Processor, a dietary analysis software
program, for evaluation.
An oral introductory presentation on the research project
was given during class time. Students that chose to
participate, read and signed a consent form and a week
later on their exam day received an online survey through
the Qualtrics Survey Tool.
The breakfast items consumed will be analyzed for total
calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients and will be
compared to 25% of the recommended daily intake for
specific nutrient and calories (the standard proposed by
many investigators to measure breakfast adequacy).
The survey collected data on age, gender, type of housing,
and breakfast consumption patterns. Breakfast food
choices, breakfast location, and the amounts of each food
consumed were obtained through a food recall.
Finally, the relationships between breakfast frequency,
breakfast quality, breakfast context and immediate
academic performance (exam score) will be examined.
The student’s ID number was used to match their survey
data with their exam grade and to enter the participant into
a drawing for a gift certificate to Lammer’s grocery store in
Menomonie, WI.
SIGNIFICANCE
Healthy breakfast consumption is best measured through
multiple questions, instead of asking for a single rating of
food consumption (George et al., 2008).
When measuring breakfast consumption, detailed
information should be collected about breakfast eating
frequency, eating location/facility, and type of breakfast
consumed (Wengreen & Moncur, 2009).
Breakfast diet quality has been shown to be a good
indicator of total diet quality (Kant et al., 2008).
OBJECTIVES
 Determine the foods consumed at the breakfast meal by
college students.
 Determine the effect of breakfast skipping on academic
performance.
The survey was available for 48 hours following the exam.
Instructors of the Nutrition for Healthy Living courses and
the students gave consent for the release of exam scores
for the purpose of this research only.
 Contributes data that reveals how breakfast frequency,
breakfast quality, and breakfast context are related to
college exam scores.
 May lead to further research on how breakfast programs
could contribute to better academics on college
campuses.
 Examine whether housing type and dining location
affect breakfast quality.
REFERENCES
 Investigate the effect of breakfast quality (nutrients
provided) on immediate academic performance.
George, D., Dixon, S., Stansal, E., Gelb, S., & Pheri, T. (2008). Time diary and
questionnaire assessment of factors associated with academic and personal
success among university undergraduates. Journal of American College
Health, 56(6), 706.
 Examine the effect of age and gender on breakfast
quality.
Kant, A. K., Andon, M. B., Angelopoulos, T. J., & Rippe, J. M. (2008). Association of
breakfast energy density with diet quality and body mass index in American
adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1999-2004. The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 88, 1396-1404.
Wengreen, H. J. & Moncur, C. (2009). Change in diet, physical activity, and body
weight among young-adults during the transition from high school to college.
Nutrition Journal, 8(32), 832-38. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-8-32