100,000 Kiwi kids are going to school on an empty stomach

2 July, 2012

100,000 Kiwi kids are going to school on an empty stomach

Statistics show that 100,000 New Zealand children are heading off to school without breakfast at least once a week. And 36,000 children never eat breakfast at home on a school day (six per cent of 5 to 14-year-olds).

Cereal-maker Kellogg’s® is aiming to reverse this shocking trend by launching a new campaign that will highlight the issue to parents and encourage kids to eat breakfast each morning.

The Kellogg’s Breakfast month from 1 to 31 July 2012 includes a range of activities aimed at communicating the importance of breakfast at supermarkets nationwide and donations of free cereal to schools and local communities.

The initiative by Kellogg’s® comes after research from Professor Jennifer A. O'Dea, Faculty of Education & Social Work, at The University of Sydney highlighted the relationship between the nutritional values of breakfast with academic performance of pupils.

“Eating breakfast has been shown to benefit cognitive performance in children but until now we haven’t been able to identify the foods that yield the best results,” Dr O’Dea says. “The research findings suggest that in addition to social factors, the more nutritious the breakfast, the better the literacy and numeracy scores.”

“I found that children eating cereal with milk for breakfast performed much better in the Australian National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy tests than those who consumed nothing at all or options such as tea, coffee, a soft drink, biscuits, cake or toast.”

Kellogg’s Director of Nutrition and Scientific Affairs for Asia-Pacific Julie Howden says the ‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’ campaign helps to directly address the issue of worrying numbers of kids not eating breakfast.

“We have put together a nation-wide programme reaching out to parents and kids including a breakfast event touring the country at Pak ‘N Save outlets during the July school holidays and fun collectable Kellogg’s cereal bowls to help encourage kids to eat breakfast which are available at various supermarkets across July.

“In addition our Breakfast Buddies® programme will provide donations of free cereal to schools, sporting clubs and community groups. It is designed to ensure kids who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to enjoy breakfast are receiving some of the essential nutrients they need to set them up for the day ahead,” Howden says.

One such school is Tawhero School in Wanganui where Principal Chris Dibben has noticed a positive change in some students since taking part in the Breakfast Buddies® programme.

“The Kellogg’s Breakfast Buddies programme has made a huge difference to the children. They look forward to breakfast and importantly now understand why they need to have breakfast in the mornings,” Mr Dibben says.

A recent consumer survey conducted by Kellogg’s reveals Kiwi parents believe there are links between having breakfast and their children’s attitude, behaviour and engagement (86.4 per cent).

New Zealanders also rate the nutrition profile (43.8 per cent) as the most important factor impacting their choice of breakfast cereal according to the Kellogg’s consumer survey.

In fact, 95.3 per cent of consumers surveyed agreed on the importance of setting a good example to their children around eating a nutritious breakfast daily.

To find out more about Kellogg’s and the ‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’ campaign, visit www.kellogg.co.nz

ENDS

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