The Lowe Down

The Importance of Breakfast - By Gerard Lowe

I have always considered breakfast to be my favorite and most important meal of the day. Hunger is always waiting for me to open my eyes in the morning and tantalizes me until I satisfy it with a healthy helping of toast or waffles or eggs or cereal or some combination of the fore-mentioned. My mother still tells stories of how I could consume half a loaf of bread and a dozen pancakes before leaving the house for school.

This is not the case for all school-bound children. Many prefer not to eat breakfast or are too rushed in the mornings to really have the chance to sit and eat a proper meal. Other reasons for being a breakfast skipper include teenage priorities such as hair and make-up or there just isn’t any food in the house. As a teacher I often see children who are not having a good day at school simply because they did not eat breakfast.  The telltale signs include poor concentration and problem solving ability, listlessness or they may be what my mother would call “contrary” or moody. We all have problems focusing on important tasks when our stomachs are saying “feed me now!!.”

After we eat foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products, our digestive systems breaks them down into a simple sugar called Glucose. This is the fuel that our body uses to gives us energy to run, jump, think, etc. If your child has a snack before going to bed and then skips breakfast the next morning, they will have to go for approximately 12-15 hours before their body receives food/fuel during their recess break or lunch.  This is far too long to go without food and will cause them to perform far below their best. Breakfast also provides important nutrients such as vitamins C and D, calcium, iron, and fiber that children need lots of for their bodies to function properly.

If you are able to provide a good breakfast for your child but they are not hungry or interested, here are a few “bagged breakfast” solutions from The Calgary Health Region website. Place items such as crackers, nuts, juice-packs, raisins, fruit, cheese, granola bars, and even boiled eggs in zip-lock bags in their backpacks. They even suggest cold pizza, burgers and banana sandwiches. These food items are easy to access and consume and provide nutrition from the grain products, vegetables and fruits, milk products, as well as the meat and meat alternatives food groups.

While most families are able to provide these nutritious treats to their children, this is not the case for all of our residents. A discussion paper (www.nlasw.ca) released by Dietitians of Newfoundland and Labrador (DNL), the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Health Association (NLPHA) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers (NLASW) states that “despite leading Canada in economic growth, 26% of children in Newfoundland and Labrador lived in poverty in 2001 - up from 21% in 1991. Also, 23.4% of Newfoundlanders did not have enough disposable income to buy the basic necessities of food, shelter, clothing and transportation and 10% of Newfoundlanders surveyed said they worry about not having enough to eat.”
Research also shows that undernourished children score lower on vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic and general knowledge. They also exhibit decreased alertness, are unable to perform school tasks as well as their better nourished peers and are more susceptible to illness.

Katherine Covell, a researcher at University College of Cape Breton reports that eating breakfast also contributes to “greater cooperation among students as well as more frequent and positive peer and teacher interaction”.

If you work in or have children attending a school that has problems that may be attributed to poor nutrition, there is a solution. The Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador (KES) can assist your school and community. KES is “a registered charitable organization that helps establish and support community-based, volunteer-delivered nutrition programs for school -aged children throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. They can provide start-up, sustaining and matching grants, guidance on how to establish and operate volunteer-delivered child nutrition programs and support for volunteer recruitment and recognition”.

Corner Brook Regional High School currently receives assistance from KES.  Their help enables us to provide more than 10,000 meals to our students each year. We offer breakfast every morning that is served by a dedicated group of volunteers under the leadership of Mr. Bill Hull, a very conscientious and caring teacher. KES supplies us with advice and funding and we also receive donations of food and money from our families and community.

KES states that “nutrition programs are an investment in the health and academic achievement of our children”. If you are interested in starting a Kids Eat Smart Club in your school call 1-877-722-1996 or visit www.kidseatsmart.ca.

Thanks to The Kids Eat Smart Foundation for their help with this column.