Research conducted in January 07 by YouGov of over 2,000 UK consumers, over 700 parents and over 200 children, shows that the health benefits of breakfast communicated by healthy eating campaigners are finally getting through to most adults, but this knowledge and understanding of the importance of this crucial meal is still not translating into good actions.
Here are some more interesting findings from the research:
93% of adults and 86% of children understand the health benefits of breakfast
Nearly half of the UK population (48%) are still not eating breakfast everyday
Over a third (36%) of those who skip breakfast wait until lunchtime before having their first snack/meal
Cereals remain the most popular breakfast choice with 88% of respondents sometimes eating it and two thirds having it at least once a week
16% of people eat breakfast more than they did last year
People in the North East are the worst for their breakfast eating habits, with 61% of them not eating breakfast everyday
People in the South West seem to be the most health conscious, with 59% eating breakfast everyday
73% of adults feel that breakfast helps improve physical performance whilst 72% feel that it helps improve mental performance
68% of children comment that breakfast "helps you have more energy to play" and 67% feel that it "helps you to work harder at school"
Almost half of respondents (47%) who eat breakfast also do moderate exercise at least once a week
Over a quarter of people (27%) never do any form of exercise
Over 1 in 10 (13%) children under the age of 3 don't eat breakfast everyday
Only 61% of 13-16 yr olds eat a morning meal everyday
Parents claim that overall 76% of their children eat breakfast everyday
Less than 1 in 5 families always eat breakfast together
52% of people who do not eat breakfast skip it because they are "not hungry enough"
47% of people who do not eat breakfast skip it because they "dont have enough time"
During mid-week (Monday to Friday) the majority of breakfast eaters (91%) take less than 10 minutes to prepare their breakfast
During mid-week (Monday-Friday) 77% of breakfast eaters take less than 10 minutes to eat their breakfast
Almost a half of breakfast eaters spend over 5 minutes preparing breakfast at the weekend
During the week 75% of women spend less than 5 minutes preparing breakfast compared to 67% of men
