The Effects of Nutrition Education for Breakfast Intake on Morning Gastric Motility in High School Students Living in Dormitories

Skipping breakfast is observed in approximately 30% of youth. Since gastric motility is involved in morning appetite, we conducted a 2-wk nutrition education program for high school dormitory students to encourage breakfast consumption and examined whether gastric myoelectrical activity before breakfast was improved. Gastric motility was assessed by measuring the dominant frequency (DF), derived from power spectrum analysis of normal waves occurring approximately three times per minute, and the percentage (%) normal power. Participants were divided into a normal-gastric motility group (Normal-GM, DF ≥ 2.5 cpm, % normal power ≥50%, n=10) and a low-gastric motility group (Low-GM, DF<2.5 cpm, % normal power <50%, n=7) based on the morning gastric motility index. Nutrition education (i.e. the intervention) was provided to all participants and the same measurements were taken 2 wk later. The results showed an improvement in DF in the Low-GM group (1.99±0.09 cpm to 2.90±0.22 cpm, p=0.008) after the intervention. In addition, % normal power increased significantly only in the Low-GM group (42.9±2.6% to 54.2±2.9%, p=0.047). These results suggest that regular breakfast consumption may help normalize lower morning gastric motility in high school students.