Introduction
Working till 9 pm , having dinner at 10 or 11 , late night partying , sleeping at 1 or 2 am … waking up at 8.30 , jumping from bed at 9 am … going to work at 9.30…..
Wait…. Wait.. have I missed something??
What about breakfast?
“Hey… If I stay for breakfast, I’ll be late for college”, says Anna , an MBA student. “I take breakfast on some days when I’m relaxed… but certainly not when I have important meetings or presentations”, says Soumya , marketing manager of a real estate company . “ You see , I’m on a diet , I cannot have more than two meals a day”, says Shalini , a fashion designer who runs a fashion boutique. “Hey , what if I don’t have breakfast or lunch , I have a heavy dinner everyday !”, John , a sales executive comments .
Well, the reasons are many, but the outcome is the same!
Skipping Breakfast (or for that matter, any meals) has become a great menace in today’s world.
Why did I use the word “menace” in this context?
The dictionary.com meaning of “menace” is as following
something that threatens to cause evil, harm, injury, etc.; a threat: (noun)
to serve as a probable threat to; imperil (verb)
YES, skipping breakfast is a probable threat to the well being of human beings as such.
The Importance of Breakfast
Breakfast literally means ‘breaking the fast’ after sleeping at night time. Most people do not eat for up to 12 hours between the time of their dinner and breakfast on the following day – during this time their energy levels fall. The first meal of the day is the most important because it supplies the body and brain with the necessary nutrients after a night’s sleep
Eating breakfast is beneficial for both the body and the mind in several ways:
· People who eat breakfast consume more essential nutrients which are necessary for a healthy body and lifestyle
· People who eat breakfast tend to be slimmer than those who skip breakfast
· Eating breakfast contributes to cognitive performance - it improves concentration
Several studies have been conducted all over the world to substantiate the above points.
SOME RESEARCH studies
1. The Study On Dietary Inadequacies
Several investigations have suggested that omission of breakfast contributes to dietary inadequacies in children. In this survey, conducted in the US, breakfast consumption patterns were assessed in 467 10-year-old Louisiana children (participants in the Bogulasa Heart Study) who completed 24-hour dietary recalls.
Sixteen percent of the children skipped breakfast; omission of breakfast was most common among black girls and least common among white boys. Among those who ate breakfast, this meal made a significant contribution to total daily nutrient intake. The average total energy intake was significantly lower for children who did not eat breakfast. Breakfast skippers were more likely than breakfast eaters to fail to meet two thirds of the Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamins and minerals, especially calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, riboflavin, folate, and vitamins B12 and A.
2. The Effect On Overall Health And Body Weight
Scientists and dieticians all over the world reiterate the factor skipping the breakfast actually makes you hungrier and ultimately end up eating more than that is required by you, thus adding up the calories which will be accumulated as fat. Another “menace” is having a chocolate bar or a pack of junk food so that you get immediate gratification of hunger, which again is harmful for the system as it raises the glucose level to a very high level for a short period of time after which the levels come to below normal. This fluctuation is not good for the body and frequent such fluctuations can lead to digestive and hormonal disorders in the long run. In fact, the rising number of patients with lifestyle disorders like diabetes, blood pressure and high cholesterol can be attributed to a great extent to the untimely and irregular food habits that this generation follows.
Similarly, our Brain requires the highest level of energy after the long hours of rest and sleep .Only a nutritious breakfast provides the energy and nutrients necessary to put our brain into an active state.
Studies show that breakfast, especially a cereal breakfast, helps in weight control. Eating breakfast even helps you be slimmer. Most importantly, breakfast eaters eat fewer calories, less saturated fat and cholesterol. So, they consume better overall nutritional values than breakfast skippers.
Even survey findings show that women who ate breakfast(a balanced one) on a regular basis weighed about 4.5 Kgs less than those who ate breakfast rarely or not at all. They also found that men who ate breakfast weighed about 3 kg less than men who didn’t eat breakfast.
3. The Study On Effects On Cognitive Performance
Interestingly, this inconsistency effect could probably be attributed to the same effect as those in the Hawthorne studies 1, where the subjects when put under special routine, in a separate room had a feeling that they are “special” which actually motivated them to give more productivity. The noteworthy point is that those who consumed breakfast were those consistently bright students in the class.
Eating breakfast improves concentration, problem solving ability, mental performance, memory, and mood. This does not apply to children alone. Even adults benefit greatly from eating a healthy breakfast. Breakfast skippers are at a disadvantage compared to those who have eaten breakfast. On an average, breakfast eaters think faster and clearer, and have better recall. School children who skip breakfast tend to be hyperactive, irritable, anxious, and display disruptive classroom behaviour.
Eating breakfast also reduces fatigue and sleepiness in the mid-morning hours and is a great mood elevator. Academic performance and decision-making ability is generally better when breakfast is eaten.
In another study (a report in the archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine), Dr J Michael Murphy of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and his co-authors assessed the effects of eating school breakfast on the academic and emotional functioning of more than 100 children in inner-city elementary schools in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
When school breakfast was made available to all children of family income, the number of youngsters who ate it doubled, giving the researchers an opportunity to measure the results before and after. They found that those who often ate school breakfast, got higher grades in math, and were less likely to be described as depressed, anxious or hyperactive by parents or teachers.
In addition to improving in these psychological dimensions, those youngsters who started eating breakfast under the universal feeding program improved their math grades, school attendance and punctuality. Children who regularly eat breakfast think faster and clearer, solve problems more easily and are likely to be fidgety and irritable early in the day.
IMPACT OF SKIPPING MEALS ON ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Does consumption or non-consumption of breakfast (or any meals) affect the personality or organization in any manner?
Well, detailed research studies are yet to be conducted in this regard to substantiate or reject the following ideas or viewpoints I put across below.
· People who are particular about having breakfast and other meals at the right time usually may have better time management skills. :- People who find time for having their breakfast, obviously rise up sufficiently early so that they can get ready for their work, read newspaper and have breakfast before leaving. These people will also be usually punctual to their workplace or college and thus usually have a sense of time and have more planning skills too.
· People who do not skip a meal may foster a balanced personality who is not ready to set aside their needs just because of external factors or pressure. They may have better stress management skills: - These people are not bothered about much about the external pressure like exam, presentation, meeting etc to affect their daily routine. This shows that they are better in coping up with the pressure and stressful environment that they are in.
· People who work in organizations which give strict meal breaks and provide lunch at a nominal cost show a better productivity than organizations where meal break are not strictly adhered to or meals are not provided. (here meals include coffee/tea break as well as breakfast or lunch break) :- Well , the implication of providing food/drink for the employees free of cost has two fold effect: one , the feel good factor of the employees (the fact that they are being cared by the organization they work for ) , two , the organization can ensure that all the employees have their food and also have a social forum for interaction whereby developing an organization culture which is supportive. Recent studies on school children show that children who skip breakfast are not as adept at selecting the information they need to solve problems. Ability to recall and use new information, verbal fluency and attentiveness are hurt by hunger. Earlier studies showed similar effects of skipping breakfast among teenagers and adults. Over all, breakfast skippers were less productive and handled tasks less efficiently than those who ate breakfast. Among both young and elderly adults, skipping breakfast impaired memory and mental performance. Thus those organizations whose output is based on the mental capabilities of the employees (like the software sector), may think about providing the employees a nutritious meal before they get on to work.
· If People who skip meals are forced to work under pressure, they may become more aggressive in their interpersonal as well as group behavior and have more emotional break downs than those who have their food at right time. Thus those who have meals regularly may have better emotional quotient than those who don’t. :- This can be understood better if we consider the fact that when we try to snatch food (say, an ice-cream) from small children they may become violent and go on a temper tantrum in order to get it back. Similarly the people who skip breakfast /lunch due to work pressure often become very much frustrated and irritated about the work, which adversely affects the productivity and the interpersonal relations.
· People who take time to have a relaxed breakfast or lunch tend to have better planning and managing skills : The fact that they can manage their time effectively and they can foresee and plan their activities so that their having lunch doesn’t affect their work, means that they are “smart workers” and they are good at planning resources
These assumptions have to be tested for its validity among various groups and organizations.
CONCLUSION
Breakfast is an important meal for those people who lead a very active lifestyle. Not just breakfast, but skipping any meal is very bad for the physical and mental health of people. It also adversely affects the productivity and the behaviour of people apart from the fact that it affects the body functions.
So, Anna , Soumya , John and all you youngsters out there , ensure that you have your breakfast as well as your other foods regularly . Ensure the nutritional value of the food and the time of taking food is adequate for your physical and mental development. Otherwise, the world may soon become a junkyard of highly skilled but unhealthy youngsters!
At least in this case if you listen to what your mother says , you can be a better citizen of the world. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.”
Action Plan To Help You Have All The Meals At The Right Time:
1. Decide that you will get ready at least 15 mins earlier than the time that you want to get out of the house, so that you can have your breakfast in a relaxed manner.
2. Plan well what you are going to do that day and in your plan make sure you have given time for taking food.
3. Do not make any excuse to avoid breakfast like “I don’t like this, so I don’t want breakfast” .Instead, have something which you like rather than avoiding the breakfast as such.
4. Make a habit of eating together with your family at breakfast. You can also talk and discuss with your family members about the day ahead during the breakfast. This way you can develop better relationship with your parents and children and also have fun while having breakfast
5. Learn to say “No” if somebody asks for a work or favor while you are just getting ready for your food. You can better tell them to wait for 5 mins till you finish your food rather than avoiding food. “Put yourself first” when it comes to food.
6. Have your food , even if there is noone to accompany you . There are some people (common among girls) who always need company to have food. They ignore food if they do not have a companion . this is a very bad tendency . Remember, for the company sake , you are putting your health at stake.
Reference
1. Hawthorne studies- ref : Luthans,Fred - Organisational behaviour
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_n1_v13/ai_14832842
www.dictionary.com
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/09/15/stories/2007091550720200.htm
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2003/02/02/stories/2003020200440700.htm
http://www.indiadiets.com/Health_flash/News%20details/skipping_breakfast.htm
© CV, Oct 2007 cvadhana@yahoo.com
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