50% of primary school students are unhealthy eating French fries and Slurpee for breakfast

A breakfast survey conducted on more than 2,000 elementary school students in grades 1 to 6 across Taiwan found that although 80% of elementary school students eat breakfast every day, half of them do not eat healthily; among them, 15% of elementary school students eat extremely unhealthy breakfasts, with high levels of sugar, oil, and salt every day, which can easily lead to a high risk of obesity, weakness, and illness.

Another survey found that the rate of unhealthy breakfast and obesity among school children in the southern region is higher than that in the central and northern regions. The main reasons are insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits, or eating out. In particular, the Tung Foundation's actual measurement found that due to regional tastes, the sugar content of breakfast drinks in the south is 10% to 20% sweeter than that in the north. Overall, girls are more likely to choose sweets for breakfast than boys, with the ratio of girls to boys being 7:3.

Xu Huiyu, director of the Food Nutrition Group of the Tung Foundation, said that the breakfast commonly eaten by primary school students includes fried staple foods such as fried chicken nuggets, hot dogs, French fries, chicken steaks, egg tarts, donuts, croissants, etc., hand-shaken cups of overly sweet or creamer-brewed black tea, green tea, milk tea, or carbonated beverages such as cola and soda. Some primary school students even eat French fries and Slurpee for breakfast. Others include hamburgers, egg pancakes, yogurt, flavored milk, etc. Even drinking a cup of rice milk is equivalent to eating a bowl of "sweet porridge", which can easily cause children to become fat, weak, and sick. These are all unhealthy breakfasts.

Breakfast is the beginning of the day and also the most important meal. When schoolchildren get up in the morning, it has been more than 10 hours since dinner the previous day. If they skip breakfast, they cannot get all the nutrients they need for the day. Not only will they lack energy and spirit, they will also have difficulty concentrating, have poor learning ability, and feel groggy. It is also easy for children to become fat, weak, and sick.

Xu Huiyu emphasized that the five principles of a healthy breakfast are: 1. Whole grains as the staple food; 2. Paired with fruits and vegetables; 3. Minimum oil, sugar and salt; 4. Choose high-quality protein; 5. Diversify the types. Compared to giving children money to buy breakfast, if parents are willing to help their children prepare or make breakfast, it is the best way to help children grow up healthily.

The Tung Foundation recommends that breakfast on weekdays should be composed mainly of staple foods such as steamed buns, sandwiches, and rice balls. Even radish cake is healthier because it is fried instead of deep-fried. Milk, soy milk and fruit are the best beverages. If children have constipation problems, it is recommended that they drink a glass of water on an empty stomach in the morning, and then choose whole grains as the staple food, combined with fruits and vegetables, which is also a very healthy choice.