The Breakfast Factsheet
Overnight our energy stores are used up, so eating breakfast will top up the energy that has been used whilst sleeping and give us the energy needed to start the day.
What makes a breakfast skipper?
Alarmingly as many as one in six adults never eat breakfast.
More consumers are missing breakfast today than they were six years ago.
21% of adults miss breakfast at the weekend.
Women skip breakfast more than men. Three in ten men versus five in ten women.
Younger adults show the greatest tendency to skip breakfast mainly due they say, to ‘not enough time’ or choosing to ‘sleep longer’.
The presence of children in the household also relates to skipping breakfast as many consumers claim they are too busy getting the children ready for school before going to work.
One in four people that work miss breakfast compared to one in five of those not working.
36% of consumers agree that skipping breakfast leads to overeating later in the day.
32% of ten to sixteen year old children living in England do not eat breakfast before leaving home.
7% of ten to sixteen year old children living in England never eat breakfast on a school day.
About the breakfast market
More than half of consumers have at least three different types of cereal in their cupboard.
The UK breakfast cereal market is worth £1.5 billion.
Cereal is the most popular breakfast food eaten by children (90%) closely followed by toast eaten by one in four children aged between seven and ten.
Just over two thirds of seven to ten year olds consider breakfast to be an important meal – marginally higher than the average adult.
Cooked breakfasts tend to be reserved for the weekend.
In the UK, we eat 12 million large loaves of bread every day.
A serving of toast uses approximately 25g of cereals.
Most bread is made from wheat, though barley, oats and rye are used in some speciality loaves.
Healthy breakfasts = Healthy nation
Experts claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and plays a key role in helping to tackle obesity, the NHS says, “eating breakfast has long term health benefits.
It can reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart diseases and diabetes”.
One of the eight healthy eating tips from the Food Standards Agency is that you should not skip breakfast. However, one in ten consumers claim to skip meals to keep their weight down.
58% of consumers agree that eating breakfast helps to get the day started and 26% say they can’t concentrate if they don’t eat breakfast.
Breakfast helps to improve concentration, memory and mental functions.
Research shows that our healthiest food choices are made at breakfast.
For further information about Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2011 (23 - 29 January), including events in your area, recipes, tips or images please visit www.shakeupyourwakeup.com
- Farmhouse Breakfast Week is organised by HGCA, which is the cereals and oilseeds division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
- HGCA aims to deliver a world class arable industry through independence, innovation and investment. It funds R&D, marketing, export and promotional activities for the cereals and oilseeds sector in the UK. Find out more at www.hgca.com
- HGCA is a financial supporter of the Red Tractor quality assurance scheme www.redtractor.org.uk
- The new website is now live so visit www.shakeupyourwakeup.com for more ways to Shake Up Your Wake Up.
- Rebekah Fensome is an accredited professional Life Coach.