Wake up to a good breakfast

It’s widely recommended your morning meal should provide around 20% of your daily energy.^[1] It should also contribute significantly to your daily nutrient intake, including carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre. And children need to get up to a quarter of their daily calcium from their breakfast too.^[2] So breakfast has a pretty big job to do!

Breakfast can help set you up for the day ahead and if you skip it you’ll miss out on the goodness you need to get going. 

You might think you can get what you’ve missed later – but studies show that if you don't get the right nutrients first thing, it’s quite hard to make up for them during the day.^[3]

1. O'Neil CE, Byrd-Bredbenner C, Hayes D et al (2014) The role of breakfast in health: definition and criteria for a quality breakfast. J Acad Nutr Diet. Dec;114(12 Suppl):S8-S26
2. Cho S, Dietrich M, Brown CJ et al (2003) The effect of breakfast type on total daily energy intake and body mass index: results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). J Am Coll Nutr. Aug;22(4):296-302. • Serra Majem L et al (2004) Nutricion infanil y juvenile. Estudio enKid. Elsevier Espana: Volume 5. • Rampersaud GC, Pereira MA, Girard BL et al (2005) Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. May;105(5):743-60.
3. Bertrais S, Polo Luque ML, Preziosi P et al (2000) Contribution of ready-to-eat cereals to nutrition intakes in French adults and relations with corpulence. Ann Nutr Metab. 44(5-6):249-55. • Albertson AM et al. (2001) Ready to eat cereal consumption habits of America adults: is there a relationship with body mass index? J Am Coll Nutr, 20: 585. • Albertson AM, Anderson GH, Crockett SJ et al (2003) Ready-to-eat cereal consumption: its relationship with BMI and nutrient intake of children aged 4 to 12 years. J Am Diet Assoc. 103:1613-19.
4. Williams PG (2014) The benefits of breakfast cereal consumption: a systematic review of the evidence base. Adv Nutr. Sep 15;5(5):636S-673S.
5. Preziosi P, Galan P, Deheeger M et al (1999) Breakfast type, daily nutrient intakes and vitamin and mineral status of French children, adolescents, and adults. J Am Coll Nutr. Apr;18(2):171-8.