Together Family Action and Magic Breakfast have extensive experience of working with disadvantaged and hard to reach children and their families. The feedback we have collected from the National School Breakfast Programme evidences the nutritional, academic and emotional benefit to having a regular breakfast.
We would like to share with you the findings of our research in actively and positively engaging with parents, looking specifically at the information available on eating a daily healthy breakfast aimed at children and families.
See the full literature review below:
Below is a summary of the main research findings from our literature review on school children and breakfast:
- Not having breakfast is common amongst school children, the habit increases as children get older, and it is more likely to be seen in girls than boys.
- Breakfast in the UK provides lots of nutrients. It is particularly rich in B vitamins, vitamin D, calcium, iron, iodine and magnesium.
- A positive link was shown between eating breakfast and GCSE performance for secondary school students in the UK. Missing breakfast was associated with poorer GCSE performance.
- 1 in 7 children go to school without breakfast and more than 2 pupils in every class in England and Wales will arrive to school hungry at least once a week.
- Children who eat breakfast generally have a higher intake and store of many vitamins and minerals.
- 81% of teachers agreed that hungry children are unable to concentrate.
- Teenagers who do not have breakfast are more likely to skip breakfast in adulthood.
- 10–30% of children across the UK and Europe regularly miss breakfast.
- Eating breakfast is linked to longer term health benefits such as a reduction in cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
- 60% of parents struggle to find enough time to eat breakfast together as a family and 1 in 10 parents never eat breakfast as a family.
- Children who ate breakfast showed higher wellbeing scores.
- Eating a healthy breakfast has been linked to improved mental health and mood in teenagers.
- Adolescents who regularly consume breakfast are more likely to have a healthy body weight.
- Children who miss breakfast tend to eat more foods such as fast foods and unhealthier snacks later in the day.
- Children feel fuller and have more energy when they have had breakfast.
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