Association of breakfast skipping on quality of life among university students in Latin America: A multicenter cross-sectional study
Juan Jose Fuentes-Valdes, Solange Parra-Soto, Georgina Gómez, Tannia Valeria Carpio-Arias, Leslie Landaeta-Díaz, Israel Ríos-Castillo, Jacqueline Araneda-Flores, Gladys Morales-Illanes, Eliana Meza-Miranda, Beatriz Núñez, Gabriela Murillo, Karla Cordón-Arrivillaga, Edna J. Nava-González, Saby Mauricio-Alza, Jhon jairo Bejarano-Rocancio, Brian Cavagnari, Samuel Duran-AgüeroBackground
Skipping breakfast is a prevalent habit among university students and has been associated with poorer quality of life; however, evidence from Latin America remains limited, particularly from multicenter studies.
Aim
To analyze the association between breakfast skipping and quality of life across its physical, psychological, social, and environmental dimensions among Latin American university students.
Methods
A cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted in ten Latin American countries using an online self-administered questionnaire. Breakfast frequency, sociodemographic variables, and quality of life were assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, physical activity, and socioeconomic status.
Summary
A total of 4539 university students participated (67% women; mean age: 21.3 ± 2.5 years). Of these, 38.6% reported skipping breakfast three or more times per week. Breakfast skipping was significantly associated with lower scores in the physical (β = −2.8; 95% CI: −3.9 to −1.6), psychological (β = −2.3; 95% CI: −3.4 to −1.2), and environmental (β = −1.9; 95% CI: −2.9 to −0.9) domains. No significant association was observed with the social domain. In conclusion the frequent breakfast skipping is associated with poorer quality of life among Latin American university students. Promoting regular breakfast consumption may represent an effective strategy to improve overall well-being in this population.