Comparison of mean body mass index among various groups of breakfast consumption in students of a medical college

Objective: To compare the mean differences of body mass index among various groups of breakfast consumption in medical students of Karachi.
Materials and methods: A total of 182 healthy medical students, both male and female between the age of 19-21 years were selected by convenience sampling technique from Liaquat National Medical College. After approval from the ethical review board and written informed consent, information regarding the breakfast was gathered through a proforma filled by each student and accordingly the participants were divided into breakfast (taking breakfast daily), intermittent (taking breakfast irregularly i.e; 1-6 days per week) and non-breakfast (never taking breakfast) groups . Measurements of height and weight for each individual were done through stadiometer and body mass index was calculated using the standard formula.
Results: Descriptive statistics showed a mean age of 20.23±1.77 and mean BMI of all the three groups were analyzed and compared. Lowest mean BMI of 19.88 ±2.58 kg/m2 was reported in subjects having regular breakfast compared to the no-breakfast group with the highest mean body mass index of 25.49±4.10 kg/m2. Significant differences were found among the three groups with p-value < 0.05 when compared for their mean body mass index using analysis of variance.
Conclusion: In conclusion, significant mean differences of body mass index were found among the three groups of breakfast consumption in young medical students.