Students’ Performance In Relation to Breakfast

MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday July 27, 2000

Campaign Spotlight On School Students’ Performance In Relation to Breakfast

The country’s first qualitative study into the impact of eating breakfast on the daily school performances of young New Zealanders begins on July 31 as part of the 2000 Get Going With Breakfast Campaign.

Sixty pupils from Aorere College and West Papatoetoe Primary School in Papatoetoe, Auckland will be given breakfast every day for a month and any improvements in their academic, social, behavioural and physical performances at school will be monitored.

Until now there has only been anecdotal evidence to suggest there is a direct link between having breakfast and an increased level of performance, although purely a pilot study, the Get Going With Breakfast programme will be the first to look more closely into this theory.

The study was commissioned by the Get Going With Breakfast campaign after recent ACNeilsen survey results indicated 43 percent of the nations’ 10 to 17 year olds often go to school without eating breakfast. This highlights a lack of awareness of the impact eating breakfast has on daily performance and well-being. Earlier research conducted by the Hillary Commission also showed concerns for the related levels of activity of non-breakfast eaters.

Leading New Zealand dietician Jeni Pearce says there is no doubt breakfast plays a critical role in the alertness, school performance, activity levels and successful weight management in children and teenagers.

“Not only is breakfast important for the nutrients it provides for growth and good health, we predict this study will show breakfast is for champions at school and at play,” Ms Pearce says.

1ACNielsen Mini Panorama, Quarter One 2000

The month-long Get Going With Breakfast campaign was launched today at Aorere College by the Minister of Education and attended by former All Black Robin Brooke, North Harbour half-back Mark Robinson, Kings player Harry Ngata and Team New Zealand members Tong Rae and Chris Ward. And aims to demonstrate and educate school pupils and their caregivers of the importance of eating breakfast every day.

The campaign also includes television advertising, a national communications programme, a campaign website, school resource kit and a $10,000 Win A Dream Class Trip competition.

Three lucky school classes will win a dream $10,000 class trip of their choice. It could be anything from whale watching in Kaikoura; spotting sharks at Kelly Talton’s Underwater World in Auckland; marveling at mud pools in Rotorua; touring the Beehive in Wellington or scaling the Sky Tower in Auckland.

The Get Going With Breakfast website located at www.getbreakfast.co.nz is filled with nutritional information, breakfast truths, recipes, celebrity breakfast profiles and details of the competition. It also offers visitors the chance to win prizes with breakfast quiz games.

The campaign is consistent with the Food and Nutrition Guidelines, is supported by the Ministry of Health and the Hillary Commission. The campaign messages are also endorsed by the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation and the National Heart Foundation.

It is the initiative of five of the country’s leading food manufacturers - Frucor Beverages (Just Juice), NZ Dairy Foods (Anchor Milk), Sanitarium (Weet-Bix), Quality Bakers and Turners and Growers (Bonita Bananas).

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Released on behalf of the Get Going With Breakfast partners by Porter Novelli New Zealand

For further information please contact:
Jeni Pearce Dietician 025 460 346
or
Bridget Reaney Porter Novelli New Zealand (Auckland) Ltd. 09 373 3786

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