Impact of missed breakfast on children鈥檚 wellbeing investigated
By Rachel Lawler
The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) and Magic Breakfast have launched a join campaign investigating the impact of missing breakfast on children鈥檚 health and wellbeing.
The two organisations will investigate previous research on the eating habits of children and look into the impact of these meals on their health as well as their learning and development.
The review will also look at the impact of food insecurity on children鈥檚 educational outcomes, as the BNF has warned that children skipped meals are also at risk of short- and long-term health problems.
The BNF will also host a roundtable event with key stakeholders to discuss the findings of its review paper.
Last year, Magic Breakfast revealed that three million children in the UK were starting school on an empty stomach in its . The research also found that most schools in England currently charge parents for children鈥檚 breakfast. It also found that just one in four children in the country鈥檚 most deprived areas were benefitting from the government鈥檚 school breakfast funding.
Commenting on the announcement, Elaine Hindal, chief executive of the British Nutrition Foundation said: 鈥淎s a nutrition charity, we are acutely aware of the impact a healthy diet can have on children鈥檚 health and wellbeing, and the challenges that many families currently face in being able to provide the food their children need. We are delighted to partner with Magic Breakfast to look at the science behind breakfast and children鈥檚 health and how we can use this to make a real difference to children鈥檚 lives.鈥