Professors Stress the Importance of a Healthy and Balanced Breakfast
19 Sep 2013 --- Traditional breakfast patterns are changing as consumers more frequently opt to eat out-of-home or skip breakfast completely. A lack of time and hunger, and the misconception that missing breakfast is an effective way to lose weight, are the most common reasons cited.
To counter these misconceptions, on Tuesday 17 September 2013, Puratos hosted a workshop on nutrition and breakfast at the acclaimed International Congress of Nutrition (ICN) 2013 in Granada (Spain).
It has been confirmed time and again that the traditional breakfast pattern is fading. Busy lifestyles mean that increasingly more consumer don’t find or take the time to sit down for breakfast. As a result of this, consumers look either for out-of-home and on-the-go breakfast solutions or they skip breakfast altogether. The outcomes of the Taste Tomorrow survey – a recent global survey into consumer behaviour, attitudes and trends related to bakery, patisserie and chocolate conducted by Puratos – show that nearly 40% of all consumers skip breakfast at least twice a week.
During the two-hour workshop, researchers and nutritionists looked at the nutritional aspects of what is considered the most important meal of the day: breakfast. Leading academics in the field of nutrition from different universities across Europe presented scientific research on the effects of breakfast on cognitive performance, blood glucose, appetite, overweight and obesity. They all came to the same conclusion: a healthy and well-balanced breakfast is of utmost importance.
“The importance of breakfast cannot be denied,” confirmed the first speaker, Prof. Luis Moreno of the University of Zaragoza. “The trend of skipping breakfast has been linked to a variety of nutritional issues. Breakfast skipping is associated with a less healthy dietary intake, with low levels of physical activity and with overweight and obesity in different population groups, countries and types of studies, including meta-analysis.”
Prof. Ian McDonald of the University of Nottingham expanded on this point by illustrating that longer-term studies have shown that regular consumption of breakfast is accompanied by lower overall energy intakes and may make weight management easier to achieve. In addition, he offered scientific evidence that consumption of food soon after waking (i.e. taking breakfast after an overnight fast) is associated with reductions in hunger and improved insulin sensitivity at the next meal.
But the importance of breakfast reaches beyond the mere physical. A new research article by the Human Appetite Research Unit at the University of Leeds, included in the presentation by Prof. Louise Dye, provides fresh evidence that habitual breakfast eating (frequency and quality) and School Breakfast Programmes have a positive effect on children’s academic performance, with the clearest effects being measured on the mathematic and arithmetic grades of undernourished children.
Adeline Pierre, R&D Nutrition Manager at Puratos and the final speaker during the workshop, summarised: “Scientific evidence indicates that breakfast consumption is associated with better health at any age. Despite this, consumer surveys clearly show that eating breakfast is hugely affected by time pressures and therefore is often skipped completely. The workshop was meant to find ways to raise consumer awareness about the health benefits of breakfast and to stress the need for more healthy breakfast solutions in line with consumers demand.”
She finished by tackling some common misconceptions that challenge the role of bread – traditionally, the most common breakfast staple in many cultures – at the breakfast table: “Bread, especially wholegrain, is a naturally healthy base that should be promoted more for breakfast. Bread has evolved into a very versatile food product. Years of research allow us to offer nice concepts that meet consumers’ expectations on taste, nutrition and convenience.”
