Make Time For Breakfast

After going 10 – 12 hours overnight without food, energy reserves are low and your body and brain need fuel. What you choose to eat at breakfast can affect your mood, physical and mental performance, weight and your general and long term health.

Researchers in Nottingham investigated the effects of skipping breakfast on energy metabolism and found that skipping breakfast led to higher cholesterol levels and lower insulin sensitivity both risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

If you miss breakfast you are much more likely to get hungry mid morning and end up grabbing a snack that is high in calories and fat but low in nutrients and fibre. Studies show that children who regularly eat a cereal based breakfast are healthier and less likely to be overweight. In fact teenagers who ate breakfast cereals more than five times a week weighed less, had a smaller waist size and lower blood sugar levels than those who rarely ate cereal. Research among adults shows that people who eat breakfast are more likely to be within the ideal weight range than people who skip breakfast. A bowl of wholegrain cereal with semi skimmed milk or a couple of slices of wholemeal toast are an ideal way to start the day.

Several studies have shown that children who skip breakfast in the morning perform less well in problem solving tasks. Verbal fluency, creativity and the ability to recall newly acquired facts are similarly affected.

More than 1,300 children took part in an online study conducted by leading cognitive research unit, Cognitive Drug Research Ltd, as part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2004. The results clearly showed that children who eat breakfast have superior cognitive function and therefore pay more attention and respond more quickly to given tasks. Teachers in Scotland reported that concentration in class improved as a result of introducing breakfast clubs while the children said that it helped them enjoy school more.

But it is not just children that perform less well if they miss breakfast, other studies show that adults who ate breakfast tended to work faster, made fewer mistakes in logic tests and had better memory recall compared with breakfast skippers.

Making time for breakfast does not have to mean missing precious time in bed, it only takes few minutes to pour some milk over a bowl of wholegrain cereal. If time is short be organised and get out a bowl, a spoon and packet of cereal before you go to bed. If you really don’t have time to eat before you leave the house grab a healthy snack on the way to work, such as a cereal or muesli bar, a wholemeal muffin or scone, a cinnamon bagel spread with peanut butter or a low fat wholemeal sandwich.

Nearly fifty per cent of consumers spend ten minutes, or less, preparing and eating breakfast, UK group IGD reported last year (2005).
Recent figures from Datamonitor suggest that breakfast is the meal most likely to be skipped and Britons are the worst offenders in Europe, skipping on average 113 breakfasts a year per person.

Breakfast provides an important boost to our intake of vitamins, minerals and fibre, and studies show it can be difficult to make up on these nutrients if you miss the opportunity at breakfast. People who eat breakfast are more likely to meet the recommended intake for iron, calcium and B group vitamins than those who skip breakfast. Wholegrains, including whole grain breakfast cereals, are a rich source of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and dietary fibre which work together to optimise human health. Consuming whole grains as part of a healthy lifestyle is associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease.

A study carried out at the University of Cardiff suggests that breakfast eaters are less likely to suffer from colds and ‘flu.

Studies carried out at the University of Bristol examined the breakfast habits of 126 volunteers between the ages of 20 and 79 and assessed their mental health. The results revealed that, even taking into account that fact that breakfast eaters tended to have healthier lifestyles, those who ate breakfast everyday were less depressed, less emotionally distressed and had lower perceived levels of stress compared with those who skipped the first meal of the day

The North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey showed that respondents who consumed wholemeal bread and breakfast cereals had better nutrient profiles. Further investigation suggested that people who consume wholemeal bread and breakfast cereals also consume higher quantities of fruit and vegetables and low fat foods leading to a better nutrient quality diet.