Eating breakfast, fruit and vegetable intake and their relation with happiness in college students.

PURPOSE: Nutrition plays a major role in physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between happiness and fruit and vegetable intake as well as eating breakfast in students. METHODS: In this cross-sectional web-based study, all students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in Iran who attended course classes were invited to participate in the study. Five hundred forty-one students filled out the web-based questionnaire which included questions related to measurement of happiness, breakfast, fruit and vegetable consumption and socio-economic and demographic information. Analysis of covariance was used to assess the relationship between happiness and breakfast, fruit and vegetable consumption by adjustments for covariates. RESULTS: Measure of happiness was positively associated with eating breakfast, number of meals eaten daily and the amount of fruit and vegetable consumption (P values were <0.001, 0.008, 0.02, and 0.045 respectively). Students who ate breakfast every day, more than 8 servings of fruit and vegetables daily, and had 3 meals in addition to 1-2 snacks per day had the highest happiness score. CONCLUSION: Healthier behavior pattern was associated with higher happiness scores among medical students.

Developing and testing a measurement tool for assessing predictors of breakfast consumption based on a health promotion model.

OBJECTIVE: To develop an instrument for measuring Health Promotion Model constructs in terms of breakfast consumption, and to identify the constructs that were predictors of breakfast consumption among Iranian female students. DESIGN: A questionnaire on Health Promotion Model variables was developed and potential predictors of breakfast consumption were assessed using this tool. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred female students, mean age 13 years (SD ± 1.2 years). SETTINGS: Two middle schools from moderate-income areas in Qom, Iran. VARIABLES MEASURED: Health Promotion Model variables were assessed using a 58-item questionnaire. Breakfast consumption was also measured. ANALYSIS: Internal consistency (Cronbach alpha), content validity index, content validity ratio, multiple linear regression using stepwise method, and Pearson correlation. RESULTS: Content validity index and content validity ratio scores of the developed scale items were 0.89 and 0.93, respectively. Internal consistencies (range, .74-.91) of subscales were acceptable. Prior related behaviors, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and competing demand and preferences were 4 constructs that could predict 63% variance of breakfast frequency per week among subjects. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The instrument developed in this study may be a useful tool for researchers to explore factors affecting breakfast consumption among students. Students with a high level of self-efficacy, more prior related behavior, fewer perceived barriers, and fewer competing demands were most likely to regularly consume breakfast.