Breakfast Initiative
Breakfast and Future Success
GLC20
Why Talk About It?
You may have heard may times
“breakfast is the most important meal
of the day.”
Any thoughts about this statement?
Why Breakfast?
According to the World Health Organization
(2009), the most important social determinant of
health is …
education
Why Breakfast?
Children and youth who succeed in school and
graduate from secondary school are:
 less likely to live in poverty
 more likely to be successfully employed
The Link
 There is a direct link between healthy eating and
education.
 Healthy eating during childhood and adolescence
promotes optimal growth and development and physical
and mental well-being.
 Healthy meals and snacks regularly throughout the day
according to appetite is important.
Toronto Study
• Feeding our future was a two year study done by
the Toronto Districts School Board 2008-09
• The study followed 6,000 students
• It looked at the effect of providing breakfast on
student health, behaviour, attendance, attention
and achievement
Toronto Study Results
•
•
•
78% of secondary students who ate breakfast at
school were on track for graduation compared to
61% of students who only ate breakfast on a few
days or not at all.
Breakfast eaters were less likely to be suspended
(3% vs. 6%).
Breakfast eaters were more likely to attend school!
(4.8% absenteeism rate vs. 6.7%)
Toronto Study Results
•
75% of students who ate breakfast on most school days,
rated their health as “excellent” or “good” compared to only
58% of those who ate breakfast two days or less
No breakfast = No Nutrients
Breakfast makes you Brighter
Full Stomach = Full Mind
Toronto Study …
• Study confirms eating breakfast can really make a positive
difference.
• In this study, breakfast was provided at school but still
confirms that eating breakfast had a positive impact on
learning, reported health and absenteeism rates.
• Eating breakfast starts the day off well no matter if it is
eaten at home or at school
Think Pair Share
After discussing the benefits of eating a
healthy breakfast take 9 minutes to
complete the following activity:
• Think for 3 minutes
• Pair for 3 minutes
• Share for 3 minutes
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Influences
After completing the Think/Pair/Share activity we discussed
some of our personal influences in regards to healthy eating
patterns.
Research shows that children model their eating habits after
their parents/caregivers behaviours and choices
 What are some benefits and drawbacks of this?
 If our caregivers are not modeling positive eating
behaviours, what can we do?
 How may better eating habits benefit our families as a
whole?
Down Goes Breakfast
 Even though eating breakfast is associated with
positive outcomes research shows that as children
get older breakfast consumption declines:

By grade 10, 60% of girls did not eat breakfast daily
Age
Stick-it/Stack-it
• Individually write 1 reason per sticky
note why you might not eat breakfast
• In groups of 3 or 4, place your ideas into
categories
• Share your ideas. Why are we skipping
breakfast?
What the research shows
 There are lots of reasons why breakfast consumption
decreases
 Some of the major reasons include:
 lack of time
 sleeping in late
 long bus rides
 lack of role modeling
 not being hungry
What does a healthy
breakfast look like?
A healthy breakfast
should consist 3 of the 4
food groups from
Canada’s Food Guide
• What are the 4 food groups?
• Why include at least 3 of the 4
food groups at a meal?
• Give examples of breakfasts that
include 3 of the 4 food groups.
Role Playing
• Create a skit about the importance of
eating breakfast
• Make sure to follow the instructions
provided
• Work in your stick it/stack it groups