It is hard to believe that summer is slowly winding down and as a new school year quickly approaches, excitement and a bit of anxiousness build. Perhaps you and your children have been stocking up on colorful folders, designer pencils, Jonas brother notebooks, and the crucial "Mom I NEED that" red and navy argyle sweater vest with matching designer jeans.
Regardless of when your search for the best deals on back to school essentials began, you undoubtedly possess the desire to prepare your child for a successful year. As much as you might like to, you cannot go to school for your children to ensure that they are well-behaved, paying attention and not picking on poor four eyed, freckle faced Bobby Hinkle. Demanding nothing less than the best, you wonder: "How can I set my kids apart from the other children in their class? How can I prepare them for a lifetime of success?"
A commonly overlooked component to this solution is proper nutrition, specifically breakfast. While back to school nutrition usually focuses on packing healthy lunches, it is crucial not to disregard the importance of breakfast. We hear all the time that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet that is precisely the meal most of us skip out on. A 2008 Food and Health Survey shows that although there has been a significant increase in the American public's perception of breakfast-with 77% of individuals regarding it as extremely important-only 46% of those surveyed consume breakfast on a regular basis.
So even though we understand the importance of consuming a healthy meal in the morning, why do we commonly skip breakfast as we strive to rush out the door? For children, common reasons cited area lack of time, not being hungry, the perception that breakfast skipping assists in weight loss and growing autonomy.
A National Survey of approximately 2,000 American parents showed that 31% of elementary and 62% of secondary students do not regularly eat breakfast. 54% of these individuals say that they are too rushed to think about eating. Furthermore, 1 in 3 parents say that their child will not eat breakfast without a struggle. As our children age and are allowed to make their own decisions, they are 25% more likely to skip breakfast.
Have you ever gotten into your car in the morning and turned the key to the ignition, only to hear that dreaded sputtering sound? Crap, low fuel. Somewhere in the bustle of your day, you forgot that your car was low on fuel. Frantically, you panic. You left your ATM card in the house, are already late for a meeting, don't have enough gas to make it to the office even on a good traffic day and everyone else has already left for work. Your whole day is thrown off. You have to adjust to quite a bit of unnecessary stress because you did not properly plan ahead.
Well, the same concept applies to your body. Even if you don't think about it, if you neglect to 'break your overnight fast', you most likely will not be able perform to the best of your ability throughout the day. Low fuel, your body panics, making it more difficult to tackle a busy day.
Providing your body with essential nutrients and energy, breakfast fuels your body to sustain optimal performance throughout the day. Research indicates that individuals who eat breakfast show improved mental performance and concentration. In a recently released 6 year study concerning the benefits of breakfast, researchers indicated that skipping breakfast was associated with sluggishness, attention problems and less efficiency on tasks. When compared to those who ate breakfast on a regular basis, individuals who skipped breakfast became less efficient on tasks as the day progressed. This leads to the conclusion that eating breakfast can help an individual make fewer mistakes while working at a considerably faster pace.
Numerous studies released by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have found a correlation between eating in the morning and improved test results, memory and verbal skills. One study concluded that hungry children are less able to distinguish among similar images, have slower memory recalls and are increasingly absent or tardy. We all know how hard it is to function when your body continually reminds you that it needs food.
Just why is breakfast so important? In addition to the numerous academic benefits of eating a healthy breakfast, many common breakfast foods provide excellent amounts of vitamins and minerals essential to a healthy lifestyle. Carbohydrates are a good source of immediate energy and fiber provides a feeling of fullness, discouraging overeating throughout the rest of the day.
Though you and your children may believe that simply not eating is the easiest solution to losing weight, consuming a healthy breakfast is one of the best ways to burn off extra calories. Kick-starting your body's metabolism, breakfast not only prepares your body mentally for the day, but physically as well.
Skipping out on breakfast can start your body on a dangerous downward spiral for the day. Studies show that those who skip breakfast consume more calories throughout the day and because your body isn't given the extra boost of energy it needs, you may not have sufficient energy to perform physical activity.
So, start preparing your children for earlier mornings this weekend. Begin discussing strategies now to make the mornings go smoothly. What will you eat? Will you prepare food the night before? Will you and your family sit down and eat breakfast? Will you pack a breakfast to go? Preparing for a change in schedule is the best way to deal with it and an optimal way to ensure that a nutritious breakfast is part of the equation.
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