The Relationship between Skipping Breakfast and Dietary Intake with Body Mass Index of a Private University Students in Shah Alam, Malaysia

Breakfast consumption is correlated with a range of positive outcomes, namely good academicperformance, appropriate nutrient intake and body mass index (BMI). However, many university studentshave the habits of skipping breakfast and consume an insufficient amount of nutrients. This study aimed todetermine the relationship between skipping breakfast and dietary intake with BMI among students of aprivate university in Shah Alam, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was used in a cross-sectionalstudy of 200 students. The questionnaire asked about sociodemographic factors, dietary habits, and foodintake over 24 hours. SPSS and Nutritionist pro tools were used to analyse the data. Breakfast was skippedby 58% of students (60% of males and 56% females). Students' most common reason to skip breakfast is alack of time (n = 146; 73%). The majority of those who consumed more than 2500kcal per day wereoverweight. The results showed no significant association (p = 0.831) between breakfast skipping and BMI.There was no significant association (p > 0.05) between covariates (socio-demography, anthropometry,intakes of protein, carbohydrate, sodium, iron and vitamin C) with the BMI of students. However, there wasa significant association (p = 0.001) between dietary intake (calorie) and BMI. In conclusion, it is evidencedthat the dietary intake of these students influences their BMI status instead of the behaviour of skippingbreakfast. The importance of having breakfast should be emphasised among university students. Thestudents should prioritise their daily nutrient intake by taking regular breakfast