Breakfast Habit and its Relationship with Academic Performance among School Students in Kabul City of Afghanistan

Abstract

Background: Breakfast meals replenish body nutrients after prolonged fasting during the night. Several studies in nearly all countries have reported positive correlation between breakfast and child’s cognitive and academic performance. However, little is known about the positive correlation in Afghanistan. The country has a highly unique culture and economic activity, which might have a strong influence on the nature of diet especially in children. We aimed to investigate the association between breakfast and academic performance.

Methods: A cross-sectional study including 376 male secondary and high school students from one public and one private school in Kabul Afghanistan (Oct–Nov 2023). The students were enrolled based on a systematic random sampling and were duly proportionally distributed to the population of each school. Academic achievement was measured by a 5-point Likert scale for academic achievement questionnaire (range 0–40) and school achievement calculated on the basis of the 4.5-month average (school records). Breakfast patterns (frequency, amount, and reasons for skipping) were measured using a validated questionnaire that was adopted from previous research.

Results: 68.2% of students ate breakfast daily/sometimes, and 3.3% never ate breakfast. The most frequently reported reasons for not eating were a lack of time (53%) and a lack of hunger (32%). A small positive relationship was recorded for breakfast frequency and teacher-rated performance (r=0.140, P=0.03), but no association was found with grade point average) GPA ((r = 0.05, P=0.21).

Conclusion: This study revealed a weak positive correlation between academic performance and breakfast habits. However, no significant correlation was observed between breakfast habits and average grade scores as another proxy of academic performance.