Comparison of breakfast consumption in rural and urban among Inner Mongolia Medical University students

Objective: The aim of current study was to investigate breakfast consumption between rural and urban among Inner Mongolia Medical University students, China. Method: From December 2010 to January 2011, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical students in the Inner Mongolia Medical University using a self-administered questionnaire. X2 was used to identify the differences between rural and urban. Result: The prevalence of breakfast consumption was 70.95%. The prevalence of breakfast in rural was higher than that in urban (72.09% vs. 69.78%). Breakfast consumption prevalence among male students in rural was higher 7.4% than those of students in urban. Students in Mongolian ethnic in rural were more likely to eat breakfast than Mongolian students in urban. The prevalence of breakfast decreases with grade increase both urban and rural. Students with good physical condition were more likely to eat breakfast compared with students with poor physical condition. Conclusion: The prevalence of regular breakfast consumption in rural was higher than that in urban. However, the prevalence of eating breakfast declined faster in rural than that in urban. Our study findings could help health care professionals develop targeted interventions designed to increase breakfast consumption.