Human Development and Family Studies ApfVed:~ ".. e.ster Credits

Breakfast has long been known as the most important meal of the day, yet students tend to skip this meal more often than others. The objectives of this study were to determine the number of students who do not eat breakfast, why they choose not the eat breakfast, and what behaviors they notice ifthey choose not to eat breakfast. The overall goal is to have a better sense of breakfast patterns among middle school and high school students and to better educate them on health and well being in regards to breakfast consumption. Previous studies in Wisconsin have found that 25 percent of middle school students, and 30 percent of high school students in Wisconsin started their school day without breakfast. In this study 258 students from Augusta Middle and High School in Augusta, Wisconsin were asked to respond to a ten-item assessment on breakfast habits. The assessment results indicated that 36 % of the participants eat breakfast everyday, with 26 % eating breakfast fewer then three days per week. Augusta students identified that they most often consume breakfast at home or 111 during our school's breakfast break. The most common reason for not eating breakfast was cited as not being hungry or not having enough time. Students identified no difference in their behavio r when they did not eat breakfast, with feeling tired or getting hungry or a stomachache as secondary behaviors. These findings are similar to findings from the 1998 survey done b