Only 3% of children in Spain have a quality breakfast
It is the most important meal of the day, which gives the first energies to face the day. Numerous studies support the need for a good breakfast every day and they advise against skipping it. Although in many homes this moment does not receive all the consideration it deserves.
This is revealed in the Aladdin Report prepared by the Ministry of Health, which includes many of the children's eating habits, including the breakfast. The results of this study reveal that very few children in Spain perform the first meal of the day as they should and that sometimes their first food intake is based on drinking a glass of milk or juice.
Only 3% of children eat breakfast with quality
A good breakfast should be composed of three food groups: cereals, fruits and dairy. However, how many households take into account these recommendations of nutritionists? According to the Aladino Report few, in Spain only the 3% of families ensure the presence of these three products in the first meal of the day, a low percentage.
To this percentage is added another more worrying, the number of Spanish children who go to school with their stomach practically empty. About 16% of households in this country only ensure a breakfast consisting of a glass of milk, juice and even sometimes water. A negligent practice if you consider the amount of hours of effort that the child must face with so little food in his stomach.
Milk always present at breakfast
The Aladino Report has also collected the number of times that families in Spain have breakfast. In this way it was found that the 93% of households from this country they usually eat this food, even if it is with a simple glass of milk. On the other hand, 3.5% say they do it between four and six days a week, compared to 2.9% who only do it for one to three days and 0.5% who never do it.
Regarding the foods that are most present in the breakfasts, milk stands out, which is the most repeated element in households. In particular, the 78% of families of Spain have this product as a staple food in the first meal of the day, a drink that is followed by cookies, 39%. In third place would be flavorings such as coffee, soluble drinks of cocoa or chocolate, 33%.
In this ranking of breakfast items there are also other cereals, present in 21% of households, bread and toast, 20% and pastries, 12.3%. Among the least consumed appear fresh fruit, 8.4%, eggs, 6.4% and packaged juices, which are only used in 3.6% of families in Spain.
However, on the day that the Aladino Report survey was conducted, and where 10,899 children participated, those responsible for this study also questioned the children about what they had taken that day. Approximately 49% indicated that they had eaten some type of dairy (milk, milkshake, yogurt), with cereals. The next most repeated combination was that of milk and pastries, 3% of the respondents.
Benefits of breakfast for children
Given the panorama that draws the Aladdin Report, it is worth remembering the benefits of breakfast on a daily basis. Contrary to what you think, there is more chance that skipping this food will cause a weight gain that it prevents it.
Also, "it is known that the most important factor to predict food excess is food failure", the experts point out, while nuances: "many skip breakfast and lunch, but then they come home and do not stop eating", which in the end makes them fatter and consume more saturated fats.
Breakfast is, also, the best time to take calcium and vitamin D, that strengthen the bones, which continue to develop until age 25 and it is very important to take good care of them. Breakfast cereals, milk and yogurt are great choices for the first meal that provide these nutrients.
Damián Montero
