Frequency of Breakfast Eating and Obesity Prevalence in Primary School Teachers

Abstract

There is a lack of research using objective measures about teachers' physical characteristics and lifestyle. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship between frequency of breakfast consumption and body size, body composition, blood pressure and lifestyle factors in teachers from Hungary. The study analyzed data collected from 99 female primary school teachers (50.6 ± 6.6 year) before the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthropometric and resting blood pressure measurements were taken for each participant. Questionnaires were used to assess lifestyle factors (i.e., physical activity level, smoking status and eating breakfast). The frequency of eating breakfast was classified as rarely or never (0-2 days), some days (3-5 days) and regularly (6-7 days). Sixty-five percent of female teachers consumed breakfast 6-7 days/week, and this regular eating habit was positively associated with a lower risk of obesity (OR 0.29; CI: 0.10-0.80). In our sample, a higher frequency of breakfast consumption was not significantly associated with smoking (OR 2.65; CI: 0.17-1.37), hypertension (OR 0.61; CI: 0.23-1.65) and inactivity (OR 2.80; CI: 0.26-1.84). A beneficial effect of eating breakfast regularly was found on body composition in female teachers. Further studies should focus on the health behaviors of teachers and their relationship with physical activity or diagnosed diseases in urban and rural areas.

Keywords: breakfast eating; health behaviour; lifestyle; obesity; occupational health; school-teachers.