Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day?

Mornings can be very stressful: finding something to wear, gathering homework from the night before, and eating something before the bus comes. Eating breakfast before school starts has progressively become uncommon for many children. Observing fellow colleges, I have noticed that many skip breakfast and head straight to class, occasionally grabbing a bagel off the food cart. Mornings can be difficult, especially for a college student who goes to bed at two in the morning and wakes up less than six hours later for class. This has never been a problem for me; whether it is for school or sports, I will wake up the extra fifteen minutes and eat a well-balanced nutritional meal. Some individuals consider breakfast the most important meal of the day. Whether it is for nutrients or energy supply breakfast must not be skipped, and this has become a strong focus regarding children.

Doctors and pediatricians strongly promote eating breakfast, but there is a shocking percentage of youth that go to school with their stomachs empty. A survey conducted by Mary Shaw in Australia shows the magnitude of not eating breakfast. In this survey around 700 thirteen-year-olds were observed in their daily eating habits. In total, 12% of those studied skipped breakfast: 18% of total females and 5.3% of total males surveyed. Additionally, the females were three times more likely to skip breakfast and lunch than males. The children gave various reasons for skipping: not having time in the morning, not hungry, unappealing choices, or not wanting to eat alone. For those who ate breakfast in the morning, they usually ate with a family member.

Shaw’s study also analyzed family income, ethnicity, married parents, and family income in relation to eating breakfast. The study found Caucasians having a lower percentage of meals skipped compared to other ethnicities. The status of parents—married or divorced—was not significant while a family with a higher income skipped breakfast more. This study shows just a few of the various elements that influence a child’s eating habits.

The push for youth eating breakfast is a result of the researched consequences of not consuming a well-balanced nutritional meal in the morning. Depleting the body of required nutrients results in decreased energy and performance of the body throughout the day. In Shaw’s study, those that skipped breakfast were inattentive, apathetic, and this negatively affected their performance at school. Energy is not the only consequence of not eating in the morning. The girls who skipped breakfast were more concerned about their body image and had a greater chance of developing an eating disorder if not already done so. For both genders, only fifty percent were happy with their body image; the others wanted to either increase or decrease their weight. These effects continue onto adulthood unless habits are changed.  

            I grew up sitting at the dining table every morning having breakfast whether it included a bowl of cheerios, grapefruit, omelet, or a piece of toast with crunchy peanut butter. I never stopped this routine when I grew older, mainly because it was habit and the rest of my family ate in the morning. While observing my friends in college I have noticed many going straight to class, skipping breakfast, and not eating anything till lunch. Getting up an extra fifteen minutes before class is worth the gained nutrients and energy to start the day. A well-balanced nutritional meal in the morning may not always be available, but something is always better than nothing. According to Shaw’s study, a significant number of youth are skipping breakfast, especially children. Encouraging children at a young age is the only way to continue the beneficial habit of eating breakfast in the morning.