[ FOOD, HEALTH] EAT BREAKFAST, STAY HEALTHY

 Photo Credit: Aisha Abdullahi

Breakfast has become an important meal over the years because it provides the brain and body with fuel to start the day. Most people say it is preferable to eat 30 minutes or an hour after you wake up, most say its better if you gauge yourself and eat when the hunger kicks in as far as it is still within 6 am to 10 am.

A small interview was conducted in Wisconsin university with the students and few questions were asked like how they feel when they have breakfast before coming to school, their performances in class, if they had retentive memory, and the benefits of breakfast etc. Their response were related to that of the researches carried out except most of them did not know its benefits.

A lot of the students said breakfast in the mornings before class helped them pay more attention and understand what they are being taught. A student, Miss Princess Omoferi Okeoghene “I’ve noticed that the days I take something in the morning, I am more retentive in class and the days I do not, if the class takes 10 more minutes than the usual time I get irritated and start murmuring I’m hungry, I’m hungry even when I’m not, because I already have that I skipped breakfast in mind”. Some of them who have early classes and miss breakfast say they get very cranky and just want to get out of class because they get very irritated and pissed. Most of them complained because they knew the importance of breakfast but they do not get time to eat in the mornings due to how early their classes were.

Asides providing us with energy, breakfast is a good source of important nutrients such as calcium, vitamin B, irons, proteins and fiber. Research has shown that eating breakfast increases mental alertness and physical performance and also keeps you from gaining unnecessary weight. Researchers from National Weight Control Registry, shows a database of 3,000 people who lost at least 60 pounds and maintained their normal weight for an average of 6 years, says breakfast is a weight control strategy, according to a site called Mr. Breakfast. Research also shows that students who eat breakfast have better retentive memory and perform better on school work and have fewer behavior problems.

Questions were also asked on how to ensure as a student that breakfast was taken each day. Most of them said that even if they had an early class, there usually is a 30 minutes break or sometimes an hour break before the next class starts and they try and get their breakfast then, “better late than never”.Some suggested packing your breakfast on the go. That is either making or packing your breakfast overnight and eating on the way to school. 

Lifestyle Desk Reporters: Amanda Odai, Aisha Abdullahi, Fransisca Cassa