The Importance of Eating Breakfast

It's not uncommon to ignore a healthy breakfast before morning classes, but that thoughtless omission might cause a struggle through daily activities

By JENNIFER PALMBERG and ERIKA LINDQUIST

ARE YOU WHAT YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST? Do students even eat breakfast? What does breakfast mean to students anyway? “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” said Steve Sobonya, owner of Progressive Sports Conditioning, who has worked with Fresno State athletes, professional football and baseball players and Olympic athletes. “Breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. If you don’t eat well, or don’t eat at all, your body will struggle to keep up.”

But it’s not uncommon for students to skip breakfast or grab something on the go; junk food or coffee is often the winner over a banana or a bagel before attending class.

“At least twice a week, I eat peanut butter ice cream with brownie mix-ins from Cold Stone in the morning,” said junior Michael Graham. “It’s a tasty morning treat.”

If Graham is not at Cold Stone, he’s at Starbucks, ordering another one of his favorite treats — coffee.

“I drink coffee most mornings,” he said. “However, my extreme knack for exercising makes me think I can eat/drink whatever I want.”

Celia Lopez-Guiterrez, a criminology major, usually skips breakfast but almost always has her morning coffee.

“I drink tons of coffee because I need it to wake up fully and be alert the rest of the day,” Lopez-Guiterrez said.

Coffee is one of the most-ordered morning items at the campus Coffeehouse and Pub. But bagels and muffins are popular items students eat at the food court because they are quick and easy to grab on the go, Fresno State food services manager Quinn Cody said.

“A fast-food breakfast is better than none at all,” food science and nutrition professor Sandra Witte said.

But Witte, who has been a part of the department for 24 years and teaches medical nutrition therapy and classes on confronting obesity, advises students to keep their calorie intake in mind.

“Your body is in conservation mode while you sleep,” Witte said. “When you eat, you break the fast — hence, the term breakfast — and your metabolism is stimulated. [Also] your brain needs glucose. By eating, you supply it with glucose.”

For students who feel rushed in the mornings, breakfast is the last thing on their minds.

“I never eat in the morning because I’m always running late,” said psychology major Heather Burnett. But if Burnett had time, she would “love pizza for breakfast.”

Students don’t make the time they need to eat breakfast, Sobonya said, because not only do many students not sleep well, but also they “get stuck in a rut.”

“Eating breakfast is an effort,” he said. “Skipping breakfast lowers your blood sugar, which your brain and muscles work off of. It can affect your coordination, short term memory and your ability to burn fat.”

Sobonya said students could learn the importance of eating a healthy breakfast from athletes.

“I need healthy food for energy that I burn during track practice,” said criminology major and track and field athlete Andrew McCoy. Being on the track team means sometimes, McCoy said, he has to work out twice a day. A typical meal for McCoy is a breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and bacon, which he makes himself.

“I usually have time to eat, but, if not it’s usually because I want to sleep longer,” he said.

Stacey McCalmont, a criminology major, is also a healthy breakfast eater; she eats eggs, yogurt, or a fresh bagel.

“I usually eat breakfast six days a week. I try for seven but if I’m running late, school is more important than food,” McCalmont said. “I’m also on the equestrian team and I find that having a fit figure will give you an edge when you’re being judged in competitions.”

The campus food court, which opens at 7:30 a.m. on weekdays, provides a variety of breakfast options.

Choices include fresh fruit, bagels, muffins, hash browns, French toast sticks and breakfast sandwiches.

“We try to meet the needs of the students and faculties on campus,” Fresno State food services manager Cody said. Cody also works with nutrition interns to improve the food court nutrition status every six months. “We’re trying to meet health food needs.”

But some students are not aware of what the campus food court has to offer.

“Eating on campus is something I would never do,” McCalmont said. “It just sounds gross.” McCalmont didn’t know the food court served breakfast.

“If there was a bagel shop on campus, I’d be all about it,” she said.