I had a 15-minute walk to an 8 a.m. class in my freshman and sophomore years of college. I usually arrived with seconds to spare and by about 8:15, my stomach began grumbling. If a magical breakfast fairy had dropped from the ceiling bearing an egg sandwich or a banana smoothie-- or honestly, a cold slice of pizza – I would have devoured it. But instead, I struggled to stay focused and kept calculating the distance to the nearest dining hall.
Why You Skip Breakfast
Skipping breakfast is common among college students coast to coast. Nearly half do it regularly (Iglesias-López et al., 2023; Khan et al., 2024). There are several reasons the morning meal is bypassed more than lunch and dinner.
TIME
The number one reason for missing the morning meal is time (Adonu et al., 2023). Between trying to get a little more sleep, finishing up homework, and grabbing a quick shower, college kids’ mornings are packed. Good students don’t want a breakfast pit-stop to make them late to class.
HABIT
You might remember being pretty busy in high school. Maybe you started skipping breakfast then because of the activities, sports, and college applications that loaded your schedule. Teens, just figuring out how to juggle responsibilities, take shortcuts that quickly become normal routines. And habits are hard to break. While healthy eating may not have been super important back then, maybe it’s on your radar now (Neufeld et al., 2022).
INTEREST
If you are a late-night studier, some snacks might have kept you company. You won’t be as hungry as someone who has not eaten since last night’s dinner (Khan et al., 2024). Some people don’t feel hungry first thing and reach for a coffee or other beverage instead. Listening to your body’s hunger cues matters. You may not want to eat at 7 a.m., but maybe by 10 a.m., you’re ready.
WEIGHT LOSS
If weight loss is on your mind, you’ve probably heard of intermittent fasting. When we sleep, we naturally fast or go without food. A trending intermittent fasting (IF) pattern is the 8/16 protocol; you eat during an 8-hour time window and restrict eating for 16 hours. Skipping breakfast means you don’t start to eat until later, maybe from noon through 8 pm. But, this schedule confuses your body clock (Vasim et al., 2022) and research shows it works against weight loss goals (Khan et al., 2024). If you want to try an IF plan and help your body weight, eat a high-calorie meal in the morning instead of the evening – eat from 9 to 5 and then let your digestive system rest (Paoli et al., 2019).
REAL RISKS
Isn’t skipping breakfast trivial?
Can’t I just make up for the missed meal by eating later?
NO
and
NO
Studies have found a strong association between skipping breakfast and…
(Paoli et al., 2019; Pengpid & Peltzer, 2020; Rani et al., 2021; Zeballos & Todd, 2020; Zhu et al., 2021).
Eating breakfast is sounding more and more important!
REAL PEOPLE
In a small survey of undergraduate women last week, over 90% admitted to being overwhelmed by hunger the mornings they skipped breakfast.
“If I skip breakfast I feel so tired and horrible… usually I get so hungry that my stomach hurts and then it makes it hard to have an appetite later.”
“When I was taking an exam it was hard for me to focus. I could only think about being able to eat after it.”
“I’ve got back-to-back morning classes from 8:15 to noon some days, so I’d be super hungry by lunch and eat until I was stuffed.”
(SurveyMonkey, April 6, 2024)
BETTER BREAKFAST
Making time to stop at the dining hall is easier said than done. You need grab-and-go breakfast options for those mornings when you truly have no time. Combining protein, carbs, and healthy fats in a quick meal gives you a strong start to the day.
Do these sound good?
PROTEIN: low-fat Greek yogurt, hard-boiled egg
CARBOHYDRATE: whole grain toast, bagel, or cereal
FRUIT: ALSO a carbohydrate source, loaded with nutrients and water—your brain will thank you.
FAT: avocado, nuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds.
Breakfast Solutions for You
Check out the MyPlate website for specific advice on necessary nutrients for young adults. They even have a free app to assist! If you don’t have access to groceries or cooking facilities. Keep a few ziplocs in your backpack to take healthy grab-and-go items when you are in the cafeteria for lunch or dinner. Keeping fruit and cereal in your dorm room provides a simple but healthy breakfast.
Meal Prepping
Some students can meal prep right in their dorm. Sunday nights are often the perfect time to create your own morning grab-and-go collection for the week. Cutting up apples, and portioning grapes or baby carrots requires minimal time and tools. Even your microwave can work magic and offer a quick breakfast when you are running off to class. This BuzzFeed link has some clever, inexpensive, and easy ideas for dorm cooking that might surprise you! Choose one breakfast idea to try this week. The eating patterns you develop during college set the stage for how you will eat for the rest of your life (Sogari et al., 2018).
Top 5 Breakfast Benefits
1. Wakes up your brain
The brain relies on glucose from carbohydrates for its fuel. So without breakfast, your brain is waiting for its wake-up call. This explains why it’s difficult to concentrate and why you might feel grumpy in the morning (Chang et al., 2021).
2. Energizes your body
Eating breakfast tells your body to start the metabolic engines.
Did you know that your body burns calories just from
eating food? The “thermic effect of food” (TEF) is energy
expended during digestion (Whitney & Rolfes, 2022, p. 235). Some people even feel warm after a meal. That’s the TEF burning up calories and giving your muscles what they need
to hustle across campus and take the stairs to the second floor.
3. Empowers food choice all-day
Starting the day with a nutrient-rich breakfast keeps satisfied and on track for making deliberate, rather than impulsive, decisions about meals and snacks!
4. Curbs your cramps
In a study by Fujiwara et al. (2020), college
women who skip breakfast have more menstrual irregularity and pain. Researchers found thatopting out of breakfast disrupts the body’s “central clock” and in turn, hormone regulation. Choosing a healthy breakfast stabilizes hormones. alleviates dysmenorrhea and supports future fertility.
5. Reduces inflammation
Inflammation is a leading concern in the development of serious diseases. Blood markers of inflammation are high in those who skip breakfast. Eating a breakfast with fruits, whole grains and a bit of protein keeps the
inflammation away.
Starting now, why not resolve to eat a breakfast filled with nutrients that love your body? Because Today Matters.