Journal of Preventive Medicine

Introduction: Appropriate consumption of main nutritional groups in childhood and special in elementary school ages is one of the main priorities in all countries. The main meal is considered to be breakfast. A healthy breakfast increases the energy and mental performance. This study conducted to evaluate Breakfast and snack patterns of primary school girls in Omidieh, Khuzestan Province, Iran.

Method:  This cross- sectional study conducted on 155 primary school girls  which sampled from three randomly selected schools in Omidieh city. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS software.

Results:  The results showed a satisfactory breakfast consumption pattern in the studied population as 80% of cases reported that they regularly eat breakfast, during 14 days of study. Results showed that 22% of students consume Junk foods including puffs, chips and candy while 13% of them consumed traditional snacks including dried fruits and nuts. 

Conclusions: Eating breakfast as a main meal was at a satisfactory level in the studied population. Replacing the junk foods like puffs, chips and candy with healthier ones including nuts and dried fruits should be considered by responsible parties. It is therefore necessary to conduct educational programs regarding nutrition of school children using public media, especially television.

Abstract

 Introduction: Breakfast has been known as the most  important daily meal and  its Regular consumption affects  physical, mental and social  health .The aim of this study was  to determinate  the relationship between self-efficacy,  benefits,  barriers   and  Processes  of  Change  with  stages  of  change  for breakfast consumption  in students of Jiroft city.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 290 secondary school students of Jiroft city were selected through clustered sampling. Data for determination of self-efficacy, benefits, barriers, and processes of Change regarding the breakfast consumption were collected by questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 16. Descriptive statistics (Average, standard deviation and frequency)  and  variance analysis were used.

Results:  According  to  the  results,  9.3%  of  students  were  in  the  pre-contemplation stage,21.7%  in  the  contemplation  stage,  53.4%  in  preparation  stage,  7.2%  in  action stage and 8.3% in the maintenance stage. There was a significant association between self-efficacy, benefits, barriers, and processes of Change and regular breakfast consumption (p<0.001).     

Conclusion:  In  order  to  change the breakfast consumption behavior  in  students  and achieve  the  stages  of  action  and  maintenance;  designing  and  implementation  of appropriate  training  programs  for  increasing  self-efficacy  in  students,increasing the knowledge about the benefits of breakfast, and eliminating the barriers is recommended.