31 Million Americans Skip Breakfast Each Day

If you Google the term "skip breakfast," more than 10 million results turn up, often with information about how eating breakfast is crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Everyone may know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but that doesn't mean that they're all scrambling eggs and toasting bread. A recent survey by the NPD Group found that 31 million Americans, about 10 percent of the U.S. population, do not eat breakfast.

The Morning MealScape 2011 study surveyed 27,179 Americans from January 10 through March 7, 2011. The results indicated that males ages 18-34 are most likely to skip breakfast (28 percent) and females ages 55 and older were the most likely to eat a morning meal; only 10 percent reported skipping breakfast. Among children, skipping breakfast correlates with age -- teenagers are more likely to not eat breakfast than younger children. See the chart below for more statistics:

The most common reasons people skip breakfast were that they weren't hungry, didn't feel like eating or they were too busy. Females are more likely than males to skip a morning meal because of being busy or running late.

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Comments

[jeanette20105]

06:53 AM on 10/16/2011

I usually sleep thru breakfast. I am more outgoing late in the day. not a morning person.

[LUHG]

05:04 PM on 10/13/2011

i'd rather be late to work than skip breakfast..nothing gets between me and breakfast.

[Styxtap]

01:52 PM on 10/13/2011

I pop two raw eggs right when I get up every morning. Takes about 15 seconds.
Been doing this for a year, never got sick. (Mennonite raised, free range 95% of the time though)

[Andrew FingerlickingGree]

01:26 PM on 10/13/2011

Sadly I'm one of those 31 million.

[SLCPunk]

12:58 PM on 10/13/2011

Guilty.

I'm just not hungry when I get up. The thought of food at 6 in the morning makes me sick to my stomach.

Considering all the crap I could eat (bacon, eggs, sugary cereals, etc.), nothing doesn't look too bad.

I wonder what percentage of respondents that DO eat breakfast are really talking about doughnuts and Power Bars.

[JC Phoenix]

12:01 AM on 10/13/2011

If I eat breakfast, that means either a) It's 10am and I skipped/missed class, b) It's 10am and I'm already late to work, or c) it's dinner time (anywhere from 8pm to 1am).

99% of the time, breakfast -- the actual "meal" of the morning -- consists of at least one coffee and one cigarette.

[FaisalNahian]

11:56 PM on 10/12/2011

31 Million Americans Skip Breakfast Each Day and I'm NOT one of them! :D

[Mochilero]

10:49 PM on 10/12/2011

Skipping breakfast is one of the most pernicious contributors to obesity.

[michael medeiros]

09:02 PM on 10/12/2011

Not eating breakfast is just going to have you getting hungrier later which often will lead to unhealthy food choices to satisfy the hunger. Start your day off right and eat breakfast!

Exercise and Nutrition Tips
http://exerciseandnutritiontips.com

[Wendy Flynn Del Monte]

05:47 PM on 10/12/2011

I've been trying hard to lose weight and get healthy, and one of the things I struggle most with is NOT exercising, but eating enough! I make it a point now to make breakfast as soon as I get up, not just a cup of coffee, but areal breakfast. I've noticed a differnce in my energy levels, for sure! (and my waistline! Lost 11 inches in total). I'll be eating breakfast always!
www.theweightsover.net

[GetAbike]

03:20 PM on 10/12/2011

I was always hit or miss about breakfast until i went on a diet which made breakfast the most important meal fer sure- in fact i now eat two 300+ calorie meals in the morning- one when i get up and one mid morning.
I think breakfast also jump starts and drives our metabolism which, the sooner it gets started, the better.

[RhiannonRings]

03:06 PM on 10/12/2011

I'm never hungry when I wake up. I eat my first meal around noon...so is that breakfast or lunch? What's in a name, lol!

[InVinoVeritasBC]

04:05 PM on 10/12/2011

I do the same thing! I haven't any appetite until approx. 12 or 1pm!

[SLCPunk]

01:01 PM on 10/13/2011

Good point.

[Karl Wilder]

01:33 PM on 10/12/2011

I wake up hungry. I eat something within minutes of arising. It might not be a huge plateful of food, but some pomegranate and yogurt or a bit of toast or cheese or olives. I always eat something.

[Phoebe917]

02:02 PM on 10/12/2011

i am with you. i am ravenous in the morning. i am a grazer, as i rarely eat a full meal. my metabolism is on high drive, so i feed it, but i do so slowly.

[nutmeg17]

01:10 PM on 10/12/2011

Eating immediately upon arising goes against natural appetite and physical needs. Wait 2 hours; ideally get in some physical activity; then have breakfast.

[thenisaid]

12:36 PM on 10/14/2011

This is me to a T- up at 5:30, run for an hour, make the coffee and nuke the oatmeal, out the door. I cant deny that i may have some hunger pangs while i'm tying my soes, but i suspect thats me looking for excuses to not exercise ;)

[Siobhan Landis]

12:47 PM on 10/12/2011

"Everyone may know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day"

I suspect that the concept of breakfast being the most important meal of the day was initially dreamed up by the marketing department of a cereal manufacturing company. Breakfast is important, yes, but 'most' important? If you look at what a typical breakfast consists of (sugary breakfast cereal with milk, coffee and a donut, or even toast and juice), it's not actually all that nutritious. The soup and salad you may have a lunch would probably beat it, as would the balanced meat/potatoes/veg that graces most supper tables.

If you want to treat breakfast like 'the most important meal of the day', then at least make sure that it's treated as such, and looked at as an opportunity to consume nutritionally-dense foods that will make a substantial contribution to your dietary needs. Which means? Try to get in some protein, some fiber, and lots of vitamins and minerals. My daily green smoothie ranks really high for this, but if an emerald-green shake full of fruit and raw spinach doesn't appeal, then a hearty bowl of porridge is probably a good alternative. I make it for my family on weekends - quinoa, oats, raisins, cranberries, apples, nuts, seeds... It's pretty yummy, and loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

The recipe we've been enjoying is

http://www.naturallyradiant.info/site/hearty-porridge/242

[Erin Michelle Brown]

02:02 PM on 10/12/2011

Siobhan, breakfast being the most important meal of the day is not a marketing "concept". It is "most important" because your body has been starving for 7+ hours!! You would never go that long throughout the day without eating (i.e. lunch, snacks and dinner). It is important to get, as you mentioned, nutrient-dense foods to give you energy that will last throughout the day. A "typical breakfast" is irrelevant and means something different to every person. Eating sugary cereal, while not the best, is better than skipping breakfast all together.

If you find eating breakfast hard, start with a piece of whole-grain toast with peanut or almond butter and work your way up to more hearty meals. Not everyone has time to cook a beautiful plate but something is better than nothing!

[Siobhan Landis]

02:09 PM on 10/12/2011

You must have missed my reference to "My daily green smoothie". I blend together water, flax seed, massive amounts of leafy greens, and frozen fruit almost every morning, and drink it through the morning. It's incredibly nutrient-dense while still being low in calories.

That said - I'll still contend that the typical breakfast is far from the most important meal of the day.

Like Dave Barry once said in a very amusing article regarding breakfast cereal ads saying 'part of this nutritious breakfast' - don't they really mean 'adjacent to this nutritious breakfast', and couldn't the same be said of a can of shaving cream, or a dead fruit-bat?

[Phoebe917]

02:22 PM on 10/12/2011

Erin, i agree. i wake up so hungry, sometimes in the middle of the night. i grab some fruit or some V8. but, as i have posted, i am a "grazer". my metabolism is in high gear. when i need to eat, i do. and btw, i weigh the same as i did in high school and i am 56yo. food should be fuel, and nothing more. not saying that i don't enjoy fine dining, because i do. but i usually ending up eating a quarter of it, and taking the rest home to munch on.