Siti Maryam, Fadli Agani, Fatmawati Fatmawati

Breakfast Eater vs Breakfast Skipper (Who is better on Cognitive Function): A Correlational Study among College Students

Introduction

Breakfast eater vs breakfast skipper (who is better on cognitive function): a correlational study among college students. This study reveals a significant positive correlation between frequent breakfast consumption and cognitive function among college students. Discover why breakfast is crucial for academic success.

Abstract

Breakfast is one of the most important meals within a day and many studies have found that regular breakfast consumption is important in order to maintain an academic performance above average. However, young adults aged 17-24 years old are the highest population of breakfast skippers among other groups. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the association between frequency of breakfast consumption and cognitive function among college students in Banda Aceh city. The number of participant recruited through simple random technique was 300 college students. Cognitive Functioning Self-Assessment Scale was employed in order to obtain the data on cognitive function, whereas breakfast consumption was calculated based on the frequency of taking breakfast during the past week. Pearson Correlation was used to analyze the data and it showed a positive relationship between those two variables. Besides, the analysis also displayed a significance value of 0.000 (p<0.05). This indicated that the hypothesis was accepted –there was a very significant relationship between frequency of breakfast consumption and cognitive function among college students in Banda Aceh city.

Review

This study addresses a pertinent public health issue concerning the dietary habits and cognitive performance of college students, a demographic particularly susceptible to irregular eating patterns. The authors aimed to investigate the association between the frequency of breakfast consumption and cognitive function among college students in Banda Aceh. The findings indicate a significant positive correlation between these two variables, strongly supporting the hypothesis that more frequent breakfast consumption is associated with better cognitive function. This research contributes valuable insights to the existing body of literature highlighting the importance of regular breakfast intake for academic performance and overall cognitive well-being in young adults. Methodologically, the study appears to be sound in its design and execution given its correlational nature. The recruitment of 300 college students using a simple random technique provides a reasonably robust and representative sample for the specified population, enhancing the external validity of the findings within Banda Aceh. The use of Pearson Correlation is appropriate for analyzing the relationship between the two continuous variables: breakfast consumption frequency and scores from the Cognitive Functioning Self-Assessment Scale. The reported statistical significance (p=0.000) provides strong evidence for the observed association, clearly demonstrating a statistically meaningful relationship as hypothesized. While the study offers valuable insights, there are several areas where further detail or alternative approaches could strengthen its conclusions. The reliance solely on a "Cognitive Functioning Self-Assessment Scale" for measuring cognitive function may introduce subjectivity and potential for recall or self-report bias; incorporating more objective neuropsychological assessments would enhance the robustness of cognitive measurement in future studies. Furthermore, as a correlational study, it cannot establish causality. Future research could explore longitudinal designs or intervention studies to investigate causal pathways. Lastly, while frequency of breakfast consumption is measured, the abstract does not provide details on the quality or nutritional content of the breakfasts, which could be an important mediating factor. Addressing these points could provide a more nuanced understanding of the breakfast-cognition relationship.

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