• National School Breakfast Program 

     

  • Why Should I Eat Breakfast ???

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       Breakfast – The King of All Meals

     

     

     

    Breakfast has long been the most important meal of the day and at the same time the most ignored meal of the day. Breakfast got its name because of the meaning of the meal. When we eat breakfast we are actually breaking the fasting period that we put our bodies into when we sleep.

     

    Breakfast is extremely important for many reasons and I have listed just a few of them below:

     

    1. When we awake in the morning and start to move around, our bodies begin to look for fuel in the form of food.  If we do not eat soon after we get up our bodies begin to slow down our metabolism, so that we may preserve what fuel we have left on the chance that we may not be getting any soon. Therefore, our bodies are not running at an optimal rate. By slowing the metabolism, we increase our chance of weight gain, because we are not burning the fuel we do take in as efficiently.

     

    2. The main source of energy for brain function is glucose. Glucose is a product of the breakdown of various food items. When we do not eat breakfast in the morning we are not providing the brain with the fuel it needs to function at its optimal level. Therefore, we do not learn or work as efficiently as we would if we would have eaten breakfast.

     

    3. When we don’t eat breakfast, we become hungry. When we are hungry, we often become preoccupied with our hunger and our bodies become sluggish. We are not able to perform nearly as well as we may be capable of performing.

     

    4. By eating breakfast, we are providing our bodies with the fuel it needs to function properly. When our bodies function properly, we are better equipped to fight off illness.

     

    As you can see there are many good reasons that we should be eating breakfast. So, why don’t we eat breakfast??? The main reason we tend to give is 'not enough time in the morning.' It really only takes a few minutes to grab something quick for breakfast, or you might want to prepare something the night before, so you can just pull it out of the refrigerator and go. You will feel so much better for the effort and you will be capable of doing your best so why not give it a try.

     

    As adults, we can make our choices and take care of breakfast for ourselves. The children of the Chambersburg Area School District do not have the same ability to make this choice and provide for their own breakfast.

     

    Studies show that, on the average, only 40 percent of children eat breakfast before coming to school in the morning. With that being said, there are possibly 60% of our students who have not had anything to eat in the morning before coming to school. In the Chambersburg Area School District, only 20% of our children are eating breakfast at school.

     

    This means that there could be as many as 40% of our children, or 3,760 plus children, who may not eat breakfast. With what we know about the importance of eating breakfast - the fact that it serves to enhance body function and brain function - let’s all make sure to eat a good breakfast.

    In this day of No Child Left Behind, PSSA testing, and childhood Obesity, we are called upon to assist our children in every way possible. Breakfast often seems like such a small thing and we often skip it ourselves.

     

    But the reality is, breakfast is an enormous factor in the lives of children.

     

    Please encourage children to eat breakfast; if they cannot eat at home, we have breakfast available for all children at school every day.

    Everyone will reap the benefits... In general, the children will feel better, be better behaved, be more focused, be ready to learn, and perform better.

     

    Enjoy breakfast today!