The EMHF is backing the Breakfast is Best campaign which was launched this week by Ceereal, the European Breakfast Cereal Association, at the European Parliament during the association’s fourth annual breakfast week.
The campaign, which has attracted the support of a number of European bodies including those representing teachers, doctors and dieticians, aims to highlight the importance of breakfast itself rather than just what we eat for it. It is estimated that 61% of Europeans skip breakfast at least once a week, and that in many European countries the trend is towards eating breakfast less frequently.
'This makes breakfast a serious public policy issue,' said EMHF president Dr Ian Banks. ‘We agree wholeheartedly that breakfast really is best.
‘The EMHF has produced a number of reports showing the growing impact of obesity in men. Skipping breakfast increases the risk of obesity because it can lead to snacking on high calorie foods which, when combined with the metabolic change which takes place during starvation, tends to lay down more fat than usual. Breaking the fast helps stop this insidious and potentially harmful process.’
The EMHF is recommending that European employers use their outreach programmes to educate their employees about the benefits of breakfast and to make breakfast available to their workforce. ‘The workplace is a key venue for communicating health information,’ said Dr Banks. ‘The regular consumption of breakfast can make a significant contribution to health and well being at work to the benefit of both the employer and the employee.’
Sponsored by Avril Doyle MEP, the campaign calls for policy makers to encourage more regular breakfast consumption by:
- including “eat breakfast every day” in public health campaigns;
- adding “eat breakfast every day” to nutrition advice tips;
- including the importance of a morning meal in school curricula; and
- encouraging employers to promote it to their employees.
'As important as five portions of fruit and veg a day'
Dr Vincenzo Costigliola, President of the European Medical Association who are also backing the camapign, says: 'The benefits of breakfast are clear and scientifically proven, and it is essential that decision-makers wake-up to the importance of breakfast and play a full part in encouraging Europeans to eat breakfast more regularly.'
Karin Hådell, Honorary President of the European Federation of the Association of Dieticians, another backer, adds: 'It is essential that we halt the worrying decline in the number of Europeans regularly eating breakfast and this cannot be achieved without Europe’s public authorities playing a more active role in this area.'
According to Jean-Claude Gonon, Secretary-General of the European Association of Teachers: 'The objective of the Breakfast is Best campaign is clear: we want public policy makers to recognise the benefits of breakfast, and to make breakfast a key element of relevant government communication activities. The message ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ should be as well understood and acted upon as the advice to ‘eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.’'
