Know you should have breakfast but don’t have the time? You’re not alone…

• 20% of mums said that although they know breakfast is the best way to start the day, they don’t always have time for it. Visit www.shakeupyourwakeup.com/breakfast for lots of super speedy recipes that can be ready in less than 10 minutes
• 56% of parents agree breakfast is part of their daily routine but 39% eat the same thing every day. Ring the changes with our trio of toppings for Mixed Spice Muesli
• 33% of parents say they don’t have time for breakfast and sacrifice theirs in favour of their children’s² – even though a nutritious breakfast like Tasty Toast Toppers is ready in moments

We often hear about the ‘busy mum’? But it appears this is never more apt than in the morning…

• Three quarters of women are responsible for all or most of the cooking / preparing food in their household, including breakfast
• -60% of women aged 40-54 cook for children, 42% aged 25-39 and 22% of women aged 55+
• Mums say that the most stressful time in the morning is between 8am – 8.30am¹ so remember that starting the day with a healthy breakfast can help reduce stress levels
• On average, mums have to do 9 tasks every morning before leaving the house taking 49mins.¹ Our Breakfast Energy Bars will help to provide some of the valuable energy and nutrients required to perform these tasks.
• Here’s some tips to help make time for breakfast in the morning:
  • Get children’s school uniforms ready the night before
  • Lay the breakfast table before bed
  • Make breakfast in batches, such as our Mixed Spice Muesli or Breakfast Energy Bars
  • Make packed lunches the night before

Find yourself flagging by mid morning?

• 56% of parents with children at home struggle to get through the day if they miss breakfast²
• One in five parents only have a liquid breakfast like tea or coffee which doesn’t provide the nutrients required to replenish stores lost over night. To help we’ve created an Oaty Cranberry Smoothie to keep energy levels topped up all morning

A healthy breakfast can Shake Up Your Wake Up by benefiting your mood, physical and mental performance, weight and health. In other words starting the day with breakfast can help make you healthier and happier!

• Research suggests that breakfast eaters have lower levels of stress than breakfast skippers³
• Research from University of Massachusetts showed that eating a bowl of cereal in the morning could help ward off premenstrual syndrome
• Skipping breakfast is not the way to lose weight! It has been shown that people that start the day with a healthy breakfast are more likely to be within their ideal weight range than those who skip breakfast
  • Porridge is the ideal food for slimmers – fibre rich foods are usually low in calories but are also filling and may therefore help reduce food intake when dieting. Our new Honey & Yogurt Porridge is just one tasty way to enjoy a fibre rich breakfast
• If you’re breast feeding you’ll require more calcium, energy and vitamins than normal. One of the key vitamins you require is D, found in many breakfast cereals and also in eggs, so why not poach a couple and serve with our Breakfast Hash
• Ensure you have breakfast within two hours of waking to replenish energy stores after an overnight fast

Breakfast offers children important benefits too…

• A number of studies across the globe have identified the benefits to children of having a healthy balanced breakfast:
  • Average Key Stage 2 results were significantly higher in the year after the introduction of a breakfast club in 13 primary schools in deprived areas of London
  • Several studies have shown that eating breakfast can have a positive impact on concentration levels
  • Researchers from Reading University found that children eating breakfast cereals performed better in attention and memory tests than those eating less traditional 'breakfast' foods or no meal at all. The study showed children who shunned traditional breakfasts in favour of crisps or fizzy drinks were left with the reaction time of a 70 year old
  • A University of Missouri study showed that adolescents who ate a protein-rich breakfast enjoyed greater fullness and reductions in hunger
  • A study by the School of Life Sciences at Northumbria University concluded that eating a healthy breakfast facilitates children’s short term memory, attention and concentration
  • A study in Hong Kong showed that children who skipped breakfast gained significantly more weight than those who ate breakfast

- Ends -

For further information about Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2012 (22 - 28 January) please visit www.shakeupyourwakeup.com, follow @breakfastweek on Twitter, like us at www.facebook.com/shakeupyourwakeup or contact a member of the team:

David Gough
Ceres
T: 0118 947 5956
E: david.gough@ceres-pr.co.uk

Karen Levy
HGCA
T: 024 7647 8735
E: karen.levy@hgca.ahdb.org.uk

Editor’s notes:

•  Farmhouse Breakfast Week is organised by HGCA, which is the cereals and oilseeds division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) www.ahdb.org.uk
• *HGCA aims to deliver a world class arable industry through independence, innovation and investment. It funds research, marketing, export and promotional activities for the cereals and oilseeds sector in the UK. Find out more at www.hgca.com
• HGCA is a financial supporter of the Red Tractor quality assurance scheme www.redtractor.org.uk
• Visit www.shakeupyourwakeup.com for more ways to Shake Up Your Wake Up
• NB: www.shakeupyourwakeup.com/challenge will be live from 1/11/11

Sources

⁽¹⁾ Mumsnet Survey for HGCA, Dec 2010

⁽²⁾ Mintel, Breakfast Eating Habits 2011

⁽³⁾ YouGov SixthSense report Breakfast 2010

⁽⁴⁾ Studies carried out at the University of Bristol examined the breakfast habits of 126 volunteers between the ages of 20 and 79 and assessed their mental health, found that those who ate breakfast everyday were less depressed, less emotionally distressed and had lower perceived levels of stress compared with those who skipped the first meal of the day. Smith 1998

⁽⁵⁾ Online survey carried out for HGCA between 17 November 2010 and 2 December 2010 of 501 parents aged 25-40 with children under 12

⁽⁶⁾ American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Feb 2011 Dietary B vitamin intake and incident premenstrual syndrome

⁽⁷⁾ Yungheng MA et.al (2003) Association between Eating Patterns and Obesity in a Free-living US adult population

⁽⁸⁾ The impact of primary school breakfast clubs in deprived areas of London, School Food Trust December 2008

⁽⁹⁾ Several studies have shown that children who skip breakfast in the morning perform less well in problem solving tasks. Verbal fluency, creativity and the ability to recall newly acquired facts are similarly affected. Other studies show that adults who ate breakfast tended to work faster, made fewer mistakes in logic tests and had better memory recall compared with breakfast skippers. Study by Cognitive Drug Research, in conjunction with HGCA 2004

⁽¹⁰⁾ Claire Pincock, Breakfast reduces declines in attention and memory over the morning in schoolchildren Reading University 2003

⁽¹¹⁾ Obesity, 2011 Neural Responses to Visual Food Stimuli After a Normal vs. Higher Protein Breakfast in Breakfast-Skipping Teens: A Pilot fMRI Study

⁽¹²⁾ Defeyter, M.A. (November, 2008). Benefits of breakfast clubs: Cognitive and Social Outcomes. Paper presented at the 9th National Nutrition and Health conference, Olympia conference centre, London, UK.

⁽¹³⁾ International Journal of Obesity, 2011, Breakfast skipping and change in body mass index in young children