How important is breakfast?

[Tophat1900]

Coincidentally, all parents had a message from school last year to ask that we all send our kids to school with a good breakfast inside them. I wonder what was behind that?

Any hints to what they were thinking?

Or is this the work of the devil?

 

[Listlad]

Any hints to what they were thinking?

Or is this the work of the devil?

Yes. They were concerned that some children were not getting enough to eat for breakfast or maybe even none. I believe it was because, as they saw it, some kids were flagging at school and suspected that some were not having a good breakfast before school each day. I hasten to add not our kid.

I keep an open mind on this.

 

[Tophat1900]

Yes. They were concerned that some children were not getting enough to eat for breakfast or maybe even none. I believe it was because, as they saw it, some kids were flagging at school and suspected that some were not having a good breakfast before school each day. I hasten to add not our kid.

I keep an open mind on this.

Some kids go without breakfast and go hungry, unfortunately.

 

[Guzzler]

Children tend to have a longer overnight fast than adults, they have smaller portions of food but because they are growing their need for nutrient dense food is higher (esp when very young brain developement is prioritised and it is by necessity nutrient greedy).

 

[Member496333]

I’d say that rather than missing breakfast, it’s more likely that many kids are having a massive bowl of glucose in the morning, washed down with a massive glass of glucose and fructose, and are then crashing two hours later.

 

[Mr_Pot]

After their overnight fast, young children should be having a coffee with cream to keep them going until the school provides a steak and green vegetable lunch. Meanwhile in the real world.......

 

[Listlad]

I’d say that rather than missing breakfast, it’s more likely that many kids are having a massive bowl of glucose in the morning, washed down with a massive glass of glucose and fructose, and are then crashing two hours later.

That is probably not far from it. But I must say our little one was having a similar breakfast and was not crashing out, as I checked that out with the teacher.

Having said that I have now restructured our kids breakfast to include more protein and she now has the cereal with full fat milk last, once she has eaten the protein such as egg, cheese and ham. She moans a bit but hopefully that will wear off. Much less fruit juice than before too.

 

[Guzzler]

After their overnight fast, young children should be having a coffee with cream to keep them going until the school provides a steak and green vegetable lunch. Meanwhile in the real world.......

Meanwhile in the real world... more and more children are being diagnosed with fatty liver and metabolic dysfunction.

 

[PenguinMum]

If youre at my Sainsburys at 0830 you will see lots of students of the local comprehensive congregated outside scoffing pop, crisps and chocolate. If you go back at 3.30pm its even worse to the extent that they queue to be allowed in in small groups. The school years ago removed their vending machines but there are other ways.

 

[Robbity]

So if you happen to be a manual worker, doing physical work throughout the day, what then? Should he or she skip breakfast?

I wasn't a manual worker as such, but I used to manage heaving armfuls and trolley loads of bound scientific publications and reshelving them, often needing to climb up and down stepladders to do so, and in the last few years before I retired (wo)man handling PCs and printers and crawling around under desks. And all before I ever needed to "break my fast". It was including full fat food in my diet wot dunnit m'ud.

And regarding school and breakfasts, we used to get fed full fat milk at mid morning break - and this usually used to be my breakfast. For most of my school years sweets were rationed, so we had to eat real food instead.

Robbity

 

[Listlad]

I wasn't a manual worker as such, but I used to manage heaving armfuls and trolley loads of bound scientific publications and reshelving them, often needing to climb up and down stepladders to do so, and in the last few years before I retired (wo)man handling PCs and printers and crawling around under desks. And all before I ever needed to "break my fast". It was including full fat food in my diet wot dunnit m'ud.

And regarding school and breakfasts, we used to get fed full fat milk at mid morning break - and this usually used to be my breakfast. For most of my school years sweets were rationed, so we had to eat real food instead.

Robbity

I was thinking of manual workers for 12 hours a day almost continuously with only a half hour break for lunch and a couple of quick breaks either side. Like a 12 hour gymnasium session every day, if you will. In my industry this has been a typical days work for some workers and a big breakfast was
/ is commonplace. Eggs bacon sausage fried tomatos bread rolls and cereal.

I was born in the fifties and always had a good breakfast as a kid. Eggs, bacon, sausage fried tomato etc etc was a typical breakfast for me in the fifties and 60’s.