Objective:

Study the relationship between breakfast and academic performance in Senior Technician Students in Nursing, from the Adventist University of Chile (UnACh).

Materials and methods:

A cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative research was carried out in a universe of 39 students who took the core subjects during the years 2016 and 2017, and to whom a consumption frequency questionnaire and eating habits was applied. Likewise, sociodemographic data and academic qualifications of these students were collected. The academic performance for this work was defined as the grade average per student in the subjects of Anatomy, Physiology, Emergency Department Nursing and Pharmacology.

Results:

73.5% of respondents consume cereals at least 4 days a week and 54.5% eat fruits for breakfast 3 days or less a week. The consumption of milk and dairy products more than 3 days a week rises to 61.7%. The consumption of bread (66.7%), banana (46.2%) and milk (30.4%) stands out, which coincides with the consumption preferences of a Chilean family. In addition, 53.8% of the surveyed students do not eat breakfast at home, stating lack of time as the main cause (57.1%). Regarding academic performance, it was found that the range of the average grades differs from 53.9 to 61.0 (scale 1-100 points) with high failure rates of one or more times in the subjects taken.

Conclusion:

No significant relationship was found between the quality of breakfast and the mean of grades in the different subjects. However, it is not possible to rule out that the quality of breakfast or its omission does not affect the academic performance of the students, which has an impact on the development of cognitive processes.