GIVING every high school student across NSW access to a free and healthy breakfast, regardless of family income, would drastically improve education and health outcomes for young people, the state’s peak youth affairs body has found.
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Youth Action last week released a detailed policy paper on the impact of ‘breakfast skipping’, calling for the implementation of a government-funded breakfast program, initially targeted at the state’s most at-risk areas.
Reducing Breakfast Skipping by Young People in NSW shows that more than a quarter of young people in NSW do not eat breakfast every morning.
Almost half - 46 per cent of young women - and almost a third - 29 per cent of young men - in year 10 skip breakfast frequently.
Macquarie Anglican Grammar School headmaster Craig Mansour said as a society we need to help those kids choosing to skip breakfast.
“I suspect that there is that group of kids who are making that active choice to skip breakfast and that’s the bigger issue I think, and we as a society need to do something about that,” he said.
“If schools were to provide a free breakfast those kids might not take it up anyway, because they’re making the choice not to eat breakfast.
“That’s what we’ve got to target.
“As a society we need to work out how we can respond to that.” Mr Mansour said the idea of putting on a free breakfast was wise because there were kids who missed out.
“Life is hectic - life is increasingly hard and so the idea of the government being able to fund it (a free breakfast) is a great thing,” he said.
“The more things families can do together the better it is for everyone -it’s the communication, it’s the time together and ability to have a conversation with your kids.
“It’s about finding that time as a family.” Mr Mansour said a free breakfast program at schools was a wonderful idea, but to work it would need to run daily.
“This program - if it was to work - needs to be on every day, and we would certainly be supportive of that at the school,” he said.
“Morning is the key learning time and we know that having food in the body allows you to learn better.
“That’s the real tragedy of not having breakfast. That key learning time is lost, that’s one of the reasons why breakfast is vital for kids.”
Youth Action Policy and advocacy manager Jacqui McKenzie said there was some complexity around why young people skipped breakfast, and there was a need for a range of measures as a result.
“While some young people chose to skip breakfast, in NSW, 1 in 7 young people experience poverty, which means that young people are going without,” she said.
For those who opt to skip breakfast, Youth Action found that one key influence for this behaviour is a result of an environment that emphasises the importance of weight control, dieting and thinness.
