Coulter urges School Breakfast Scheme for Pupils
Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has said parents and schools should co-operate throughout the constituency to ensure children had a nourishing breakfast at the start of each day.
Assemblyman Dr Coulter, who is party health spokesman, said: “The World Health Organisation found in a study of eating habits there is a direct link between student performance and having a healthy breakfast.
“In Britain, only 65.8 to 66.1 per cent of boys and 60.1 to 60.2 per cent of girls eat breakfast. So significantly fewer school children here eat breakfast before school than in most developed countries, yet nutritionists tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” explained Dr Coulter.
“Though the WHO survey did not extend to Northern Ireland, I believe our children’s diet here would be fairly similar to that of Scotland with a similarly high level of junk food,” added Dr Coulter.
“It is interesting that in Scotland, which has a high level of academic success in Britain, also has the highest rate of eating breakfast. There the percentage of boys and girls eating breakfasts was well above the national average. The Netherlands had the highest rate, but Britain fell behind Lithuania, Russia and Latvia, which have a far lower per capita income,” added Dr Coulter.
“Research has found that eating breakfast has an effect on children’s energy levels and ability to study. The WHO findings come amid concern over a deterioration in the quality of diet and a rise in obesity, often said to be caused by snacking on unsuitable food.
“The United States, which has an even higher rate of childhood obesity than the United Kingdom, was among the bottom two to five countries for eating breakfast at each age stage.
“I believe that parents and schools should combine forces to ensure that children receive a hearty breakfast before they begin the day’s work.
“A good breakfast would be far more important than a school lunch since most schoolwork is completed in the morning session and since that is when the children need maximum brain-power,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter, himself a further education lecturer for 18 years.