How many are missing breakfast?

Plenty of us are skipping breakfast.

And it's making the news in the National Business Review which reports:

The egg industry wants to increase breakfast-time consumption after a Horizon Research survey found a startling 376,000 New Zealand adults skipped early morning eating during the work-day week.

And two-thirds of those who do have breakfast spend less than 10 minutes preparing and eating it.

Among school-age children, the Breakfast Eaters Programme found more than 100,000 (aged 5-14 years) don’t have breakfast at least one day a week and 36,000 children (18% of the age group) never have breakfast at home on a school day.

The New Zealand Breakfast Survey also revealed:

• Women are more likely to eat breakfast than men

• Men spend more time preparing breakfast than women

• People 45 years and older spend a third longer preparing and eating breakfast then younger people

• Kiwis are experts at cooking eggs, only 0.3% of survey respondents said they didn’t know how to cook an egg

• Men are more likely to stick to the same routine when it comes to breakfast, women on the other hand are more likely to vary what they eat each day by including fruit, porridge and yoghurt as part of their breakfast repertoire

• New Zealand is a nation of egg lovers, Only 4.5% of the survey respondents said they didn’t like eggs

The industry’s campaign, “You can’t beat eggs for breakfast,” emphasises the sugar,gluten and carb-free nature of eggs as a protein-rich, versatile and affordable whole food.

“Eggs are ideal choice for breakfast to set you up for the day and whatever lies ahead,” says New Zealand Nutrition Foundation dietician Sarah Hanrahan. “We’re often told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and for good reason. “Eating breakfast kick starts your metabolism and has a positive impact on hunger suppression. Choosing eggs as your first meal of the day will keep you fuller for longer, give you sustained energy throughout the morning and improve concentration and performance all round.”

To achieve this aim, the egg industry is offering a range of quick and easy recipe ideas and videos on its website, www.eggs.org.nz. They include short videos on preparing eggs for breakfast, whether scrambled, fried, boiled or poached. Recipes include super-fast egg in a cup, microwave scrambled eggs, microwave eggs on toast and eggy crumpets."

To achieve this aim, the egg industry is offering a range of quick and easy recipe ideas and videos on its website, www.eggs.org.nz.

They include short videos on preparing eggs for breakfast, whether scrambled, fried, boiled or poached. 

Recipes include super-fast egg in a cup, microwave scrambled eggs, microwave eggs on toast and eggy crumpets.