Students often forego balanced breakfast
Lulu Cardoso and Kathryn Yslas
Mesa Legend
While family breakfasts are a staple on sitcoms, in real life many students eschew eating breakfast. Instead most students stick to coffee before heading to school or work. If they do decide to eat breakfast, they prefer quick fix breakfasts found at McDonalds or convenience store items that don’t require a lot of time besides waiting in line.
The choice to have a quick cup of coffee or a Red Bull may have an effect on both waist lines and concentration. “Basically it’s just sugar and caffeine, so it’s got some energy to sustain in the short term,” said Alexa Cheroske, a professor of biology at Mesa Community College’s Red Mountain campus. “Then their energy levels crash and they get hazy and tired. The sugars get used up very quickly, or they get stored very quickly.”
Excessive caffeine intake may be a funny joke among students prepping for finals, but the side effects of too much caffeine can be dangerous. Too much caffeine can lead to heartburn, ulcers and cardiac arrest. Sustained and constant use of caffeine and sugar can even follow students out of college if they continue their habits, “With sugary drinks, sugar levels spike and ebb and so do insulin levels accordingly.” said Cheroske, “Hormones are chemical messengers and when those messages are coming too frequently and loudly, the cells will “tune” them out which can lead to type II diabetes,” .
According to the Mayo Clinic, eating breakfast can reduce hunger later in the day, prevent unhealthy snacking, and provide lasting energy to the body versus the brief surges of energy given from coffee and energy drinks. Skipping a breakfast with some fruit and grain and getting a McMuffin instead causes problems, according to Cheroske, “We eat to get the building blocks for our body. You may not be getting the nutrition that the body needs if you’re eating one thing and not a diversity of them, it’s like building a LEGO car with only one block.”
Rina Gardia, a MCC student, said that she didn’t eat breakfast because she lacked the time, “Sometimes I wake up thirty minutes before I go to school.” Quintin Brigham, another MCC student, cited a similar reason. “I think it’s because I sleep in.”“I’m not a breakfast person,” said student Chandlee Pegay. Whether it is in favor of more sleep or a simple dislike of waffles, students ultimately sacrifice major benefits by skipping breakfast. Several medical journals have published findings that conclude that students that eat breakfast have higher grades than those who don’t, especially in mathematics.
Eating breakfast regularly can also help regulate weight gain. Studies show that students who eat breakfast are less likely to over eat throughout the course of the day Concentration also improves when students eat breakfast. Compared with students that skip,students that eat breakfast are proven to be more creative when faced with difficult tasks. Regardless of the reason, the decision to skip breakfast has lasting consequences.
“Your body is growing, it’s pretty resilient, you don’t need to work out so much. In very short order when you get in your 30s your metabolism slows down. You get into those habits long time, then your metabolism changes as that slows down if same amount you eat before isn’t being burned through. You get into long term habits, eating and skipping habits which accumulates,” said Cheroske. If there is no time for the balanced breakfast that Tony the Tiger suggested, there are easy alternatives for students on the go.
Muffins and granola bars provide the adequate carbohydrates to keep a student focused throughout the day, while fruit and yogurt satisfy a student’s sweet tooth while also providing essential vitamins. English muffins topped with peanut butter, toast with jam, or even Pop Tarts can all help to get your morning off on the right track.
