Importance of breakfast
Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day. After waking up from a good night's sleep, it will have been eight hours since you last ate, more for young children. Breakfast helps kick-start your body by giving it enough energy to last until lunch.
Nutritionists recommend that breakfast should provide 25%* of daily nutrients. Studies have shown that people who skip breakfast miss out on many vital nutrients and are unlikely to make up for this during the rest of the day.
This is especially true of children who skip breakfast. They are not as efficient in school as those who do eat breakfast and they do not perform as well in both maths and creative subjects. Without eating breakfast, their energy levels are low and they simply can't concentrate throughout the morning. 95% of primary school headteachers say they have a problem with pupils who don't have enough energy to stay attentive all day.**
Giving your children a satisfying breakfast before they go to school is the most effective way you can combat this. Give them the opportunity to make the most of their day.
For more information about the benefits of breakfast:
* Mathews R (1996). Importance of breakfast to cognitive performance and health. Perspectives in Applied Nutrition, 3 (3): 204-212
** Research conducted by Planet Research among 501 primary school teachers in 2003.