According to the United States Dietary Association (USDA), in order for teens to absorb their daily requirements of vitamins and minerals, teenagers should be eating a balanced breakfast. They suggest eating a meal consisting of 1 serving of fruit (100% fruit juice or ¾ cup of fruit), 1 slice of toast, 30g of fortified cereal and ½ cup of milk. The USDA also encourages that these recommendations increase in proportion as the teenager ages (Webster, 1999). As the types of food teenagers are accustomed to may vary from culture to culture, nutritionist suggest eating foods that will provide teenagers with a balanced amount of Carbohydrates, Fibre, Calcium, Iron, B Vitamins and Folate (Author unknown, 2001). It is foods containing these vitamins and minerals that will provide them with enough energy to function properly throughout the day.
The survey highlighted that of the majority of teens that do eat breakfast, 40% eat only a piece of toast, 29% eat cereal, 13% eat only a piece of fruit and 18% eat other types of food (ranging simply from a tub of yoghurt to fried fatty foods) (Appendixes 2 – Figure 1). While these teens do eat breakfast, they neglect the importance of eating the foods that would otherwise provide them with the necessary vitamins and minerals beneficial for their age. Most meals are very small and therefore would not provide the required energy for continued concentration throughout the day at school. From the data collected it would appear that teenagers have a lack of awareness of the importance of breakfast. However, the result from the survey revealed that teenagers are quite aware of the importance of breakfast as 94% of those interviewed (Appendixes 2 – Figure 2) agreed with dieticians on the statement “…Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. Therefore, while teenagers do acknowledge breakfast as the most important meal of the day, they may neglect this meal as they lack the skills beneficial in choosing and preparing a breakfast that satisfies their requirements.
There are several contributing factors that influence the type of foods that teenagers choose for breakfast. This can include things such as time, knowledge, skills, money or weight. The surveys findings highlighted that the most common reason teenagers’ skipped breakfast was because they didn’t have enough time to prepare the anything to eat (Appendix 2 – Figure 3). Yet, 63% of the teenagers that provided this excuse acknowledged that their reason was not good enough to skipping the meal entirely. 100% of those that skipped breakfast due to poor time management agreed with nutritionist that breakfast is the most important meal of the day (Appendix 2 – Figure 4-5). From these results it is assumed that if the majority of teens skip breakfast due to poor time management skills, the majority of teens would neglect breakfast for the same reasons. The survey also highlighted that 31% of teens skip breakfast because they do not feel hungry and a further 31% because they cannot be bothered enough to prepare something to eat (Appendix 2 - Figure 3). The survey also found that 62% of these teenagers recognise that such an excuse should be no reason to neglecting this meal. Such findings indicate that not only do teens recognise the importance of breakfast, but also the excuses they provided where not justified for skipping breakfast. This not only shows little regard for their individual nutrition but also low motivation when concerning areas with food.
According to the Australian National Nutrition Survey (1995), people who ate breakfast had much better overall diets than people who skipped breakfast. Teenagers who develop healthy breakfast habits early in life are more likely to maintain a balanced diet in their adulthood. Moreover, it is assumed that if a person neglects breakfast while still acknowledging and understanding its importance, they will hold just as much disregard for the rest of their diet or other meals throughout the day.
What teenagers need to understand is how breakfast can affect their health in their teens and in the future. Researchers at the Harvard Medical Department found that hungry children are more likely to have behavioural and academic problems then children who get enough to eat (Murphy, 1998). In contrast, the State of Minnesota Breakfast Study (Author unknown, 1997) found that students who ate a healthy breakfast had a general increase in math grades and reading scores, increased student attention, reduced nurse visits and improved student behaviours. Additionally, a study at Oxford University (Warren, 1998) compared low Glycemic Index (GI) breakfasts to high GI breakfasts and found that teenagers who ate high GI breakfasts (sugary breakfasts) tended to eat more at lunch. Therefore indicating that a healthy breakfast (low GI breakfast) could be an important factor in controlling adolescent obesity. Such scientific data highlights the relationship there exists between breakfast and the health of teenagers. It is more then evident that eating breakfast can dramatically affect a teenagers short and long-term health. For a teenager to perform at their optimum health, they should practice healthy breakfast habits while ensuring that each meal satisfies all their requirements of vitamins and minerals.
In conclusion, it is clearly evident that breakfast is the most important meal of our day. Neglecting this meal can stop teenagers from reaching their optimum health peak. Yet, while teenagers are quite aware of the importance of breakfast they lack the knowledge as to what the short and long term benefits are. Moreover, they are just as unaware of the physical and mental consequences of neglecting breakfast can have. Emphasising the benefits that breakfast can have on a teenager’s energy level, stamina and alertness could motivate many to practise healthier breakfast habits.
This survey was conducted at Windaroo Valley High School and consisted of 50 students ranging from ages 14-18. The survey was conducted to decipher the normal eating habits of teenagers in relation to breakfast. See Appendix 1
