Objective@#To examine the relation between
physical fitness and frequency of having
breakfast among
Chinese Han college
students so as to provide proper intervention and theoretical basis for improving college
students’
physical fitness.@*
Methods@#The data from 2014
Chinese National
Survey on
Students’
Constitution and
Health (CNSSCH) was used. The data of 47 172 Han
students were calculated, the
chi-square test wasused to compare the differences of the
physical fitness passing rate in different subgroups of college
students. The Log-
binomial model was established to assess the relation between
physical fitness and
breakfast consumption.@*Results@#The unqualified rate of
physical fitness was 22.8%.
Boys(24.7%), urban
students (25.7%), and those
who exercised less than one hour per day (23.3%) had lower
physical fitness passing rates than
girls(20.9%), rural
students (19.9%) and those
who exercised more than one hour per day (20.3%)respectively(χ2=101.38, 223.33, 32.20,P<0.01). The unqualified rate of
physical fitness increased by age. The unqualified rate of
physical fitness in eastern, central and western regions was 21.2%, 21.7% and 25.1% respectively. The unqualified rate of
physical fitness for those with normal
nutritional status (18.2%) was significantly lower than those
who were
underweight (26.0%) or
overweight/obese(42.6%)(χ2=1 660.50, P<0.01). In this study, 53.2% of college
students had
breakfast every day,unqualified rate of
physical fitness was higher among
students with less regular
consumption of
breakfast(χ2=393.50, P<0.01). The Log-
binomial model showed that the college
students who had 3-5
breakfasts(PR=1.16, 95%CI=1.11-1.20), 1-2
breakfasts(PR=1.34, 95%CI=1.28-1.40), never had
breakfast (PR=1.43, 95%CI=1.32-1.53) per week had higher
physical fitness failure rates than those
who had
breakfast every day.@*Conclusion@#There is a significant
association between
physical fitness and
breakfast consumption among college
students. Developing the good
habit of having
breakfast is not only the component of
healthy lifestyle but also an indispensable part to the improvement of college
students’
physical fitness.