This cross-sectional study investigated breakfast intake and influencing factors among university students in Ghana, using Takoradi Technical University as a case study. It was discovered that students had a low regular breakfast intake. Regular breakfast intake was positively predicted by being aged 25–29 years old and buying one’s breakfast. It was, however, negatively predicted by being female. Individual’s mood, insufficient funds, an existing health condition, weight management, religious reasons (for example, fasting), and external factors such as limited time from unfavourable academic schedules, daily activities/workload, and the cost of food items on campus.
The study found that less than half of the respondents (35.7%) consume breakfast regularly. This finding is in congruence with those of Cebirbay et al. [10], who found that among the undergraduate students at a Turkish university, only 48.8% ate breakfast regularly. The result is similar to a previous study which observed that 34.8% of the students took breakfast regularly [25]. The proportion of regular breakfast intake found is also lower compared to that of Özdoğan et al. stating that 44.8% of the students regularly consumed breakfast [13]. However, this finding is lower than the findings of previous studies, which reported higher proportions of students who regularly take breakfast [17, 26]. Regular consumption of breakfast was practiced by 62% [17] and 54.5% [26] of the sample students in their studies. The observation could have resulted from the busy academic environment predominant at the Takoradi Technical University and the very limited access to eatery joints for breakfast due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This comes as the backdrop that location and easiness in choice and accessibility may facilitate and inhibit the habit of breakfast intake [14]. Poor accessibility may lead to skipping breakfast. This finding suggests that most students are not able to meet their nutritional needs every morning as they skip breakfast intake, and this has implications on their nutritional status, activeness, memory, and general performance during the early hours of the day.
Factors influencing regular breakfast intake were also identified by this study to include sex, age, religion, source of income, and source of breakfast. The current study found that respondents' sex predicted regular breakfast intake, which is consistent with many previous studies that found that females have higher odds of regular breakfast intake [12, 27,28,29,30]. This is consistent with several studies [31, 32] revealing that males are likely to skip breakfast compared to females even though Huang et al. [33] and Akarslan et al. [34] found otherwise. This thus, posits that greater focus should be given to male students to encourage habitual breakfast consumption.
Again, respondents’ age as a predictor of their regular intake of breakfast is consistent with the finding of Heo et al. [35], where the age of the respondents significantly influenced their intake of breakfast. This may suggest that older and more mature students have better control over their sources of income, their management, as well as their daily schedules, and thus are more organized and prepared to regularly take breakfast. This could also be attributed to a better understanding of the need for breakfast and taking cues from past experiences that have made them more willing and determined to consume breakfast regularly.
Again, the source of breakfast identified as a predictor of regular breakfast intake in this study backs up the findings of Ludin et al. [14], who discovered that access to breakfast had a significant relationship with students' ability to eat breakfast daily. This is consistent with the fact that due to a lack of time and possibly enough funds, many students are not able to prepare their breakfast at home/hostel and are thus, more likely to rely on some street foods such as porridge, which are cheaper and less time-consuming.
Also, barriers to regular breakfast intake included limited time/unfavourable academic schedules, a negative mood, insufficient funds, health conditions, weight management, religious reasons such as fasting, daily activities/workload, and the cost of food on campus. With regards to limited time being a barrier to regular breakfast intake, this supports previous studies that also observed that lack of time in the morning usually barred students from regular breakfast intake [10, 17, 18, 20].
In addition, weight management has also been reported in a similar study where some students indicated that they skip breakfast for concerns about their body image and weight [20]. Insufficient funds and cost of food on campus as factors barring students from regular breakfast consumption is in congruence to the findings of Wijtzes et al. [16] in a related study. The researchers found that lower social economic status of students affects their ability to afford or prepare breakfast regularly and this is in congruence with Garrido-Fernández et al.’s finding that money management hinder healthy eating habits of young people [19]. Additionally, negative mood, including reduced appetite and not feeling hungry has been identified in previous studies [17, 20, 25].
More so, heavy academic workloads and schedules lead to stress, which makes some students either wake up late or arrive late for school, as reported by Yaman and Yabanci [25]. These observations could have resulted from the fact that most of the students in this study have parents/guardians as their main source of funds, which affects their ability to spend adequately to cover regular breakfast. Also, these observations could be attributed to the tighter schedules and increased academic work associated with final-year studies, as all the respondents were in their final levels in their programmes. This is consistent with the finding by Garrido-Fernández et al. that most schools are not promoters of healthy eating habits [18].
Another barrier to habitual breakfast consumption found was religion, which is in congruence with Danquah et al.’s study in Ghana, noting that religion has a significant impact on people’s consumption of breakfast [31]. Religious activities such as fasting change eating patterns as well as influence one’s ability to eat breakfast regularly. Heo et al. reported that income, including its source and amount, influences one’s ability to afford a meal either by preparing one or buying outside the residence [35].
Strengths and limitations
This study went beyond simple verbal report of eating breakfast or not to include the timing, foods, and regularity of breakfast intake. Furthermore, it is astounding how little research has been done to promote healthy eating among tertiary students. Thus, the study might be a novelty that inspires further action. However, a major limitation of the study is its reliance on a verbal report by the respondents. This has the potential of over-reporting or under-reporting social behaviours such as breakfast intake. However, the respondents were encouraged to provide honest responses as much as possible. Also, due to the COVID-19 preventive measures, some students were not available on campus during the period of data collection. These included first-year students.
