1 in 5 mums admit they are skipping breakfast

by Taryn Davies | 20 May 2012

A healthy breakfast instantly sets you up for the day

While mums give their kids a healthy start to the day with a good breakfast, it has emerged that an alarming number of them don’t apply the same rules to themselves – a fifth of all mums in the UK say they don’t eat breakfast at all, or if they do they’ll eat it on the move.

The surprising news is the result of a poll of 6,000 mums across the UK, conducted by MyFamilyClub.co.uk, the UK’s first website dedicated to saving families money and time.

The results come as the world gears up to celebrate Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day (Saturday 19 May), which aims to inspire people to adopt better eating habits and eat better food.

MyFamilyClub CEO, and money saving expert, Gemma Johnson, said: “Our survey shows that there is a lot of mums out there that are not eating the most important meal of the day and the health implications of that are quite significant. Modern mums are under a lot of pressure, constantly juggling time and money but breakfast is essential in so many ways.

“Jamie would be mortified to know that the nation’s matriarchs are not looking after themselves and skipping breakfast or eating on the go. At MyFamilyClub we really want to inspire families to adopt better eating habits and eat better food and that’s why we’re supporting Jamie’s Food Revolution Day.”

The poll was commissioned by MyFamilyClub and conducted by family research consultancy mumpanel. 6,000 mums were asked about their breakfast habits with 8.1% saying they don’t eat breakfast and a further 10.3% saying they eat on the go. Some 34% of mums spend between 5-10 minutes eating; 24% between 10-20 minutes and 14% between 20-30 minutes. Just 9.7% said they spend more than 30 minutes on breakfast.

Most mums who skip breakfast said this is because they are pushed for time due to the increasing pressures from modern life. However, MyFamilyClub, in conjunction with Food Revolution Day, aims to help families realise that cooking from scratch can be quick – and cheap.