Breakfast Statistics 2021 - What we Eat and How Often We Skip It

We’re often told that breakfast is the single most important meal of the day. But it also happens to come at what is the busiest time of day for many families. Anyone who’s battled a school run will probably have experience of toast-on-the-go and brushing crumbs of a uniform!

 

But with increasing choices available to us all the time, what are adults in the UK eating for breakfast? Are we sitting down on our breakfast bar stools to enjoy it at all? And how many skip it altogether?

 

We asked 2,041 over 16s in the UK to tell us what they eat for breakfast most frequently.

 

The Most Popular Breakfast Food Choice is…

 

If you’ve got memories of sitting down to a bowl of cornflakes as a child then you may be reassured to find the world hasn’t changed all that much - as least not as far as breakfast choices go.

 

The number one choice remains breakfast cereal with toast following closely behind.

 

Most Popular Breakfast Choices	% Who Choose This
Breakfast Cereal	29.01%
Toast	21.51%
Porridge	14.06%
Nothing - I generally skip breakfast	11.07%
A cooked breakfast/fry-up	6.37%
Fruit	6.17%
Bread	3.97%
Other	3.23%
Pastries	1.71%
Leftovers from the previous day's dinner	1.67%
Chocolate, sweets or cake	1.22%

 

 

• Almost 1 in 3 opt for breakfast cereal
• Just over 1 in 5 go for toast
• For 1.2%, the choice is sweets or chocolate!

 

Who’s skipping breakfast?

11% of respondents in our survey said they generally skip breakfast. We see some notable variations across age and region here too.

 

 

Age Group	% Who Skip Breakfast
16 to 24	16.73%
25 to 34	8.96%
35 to 44	8.83%
45 to 54	14.00%
55+	9.66%

 

 

Those aged 16 to 24 are the likeliest to skip breakfast altogether, while the figure almost halves for those aged 24 to 44.

 

It goes up again for the 45s to 54s before dropping for our oldest age group.

 

Regionally speaking, those in the East of England are the least likely to miss the first meal of the day, while those in are the most likely.

 

 

Region	% Who Skip Breakfast
East of England	12.57%
Greater London	9.89%
East Midlands	6.58%
West Midlands	11.17%
North East	15.66%
North West	13.70%
Northern Ireland	14.55%
Scotland	10.00%
South East	9.41%
South West	11.36%
Wales	10.10%
Yorkshire and the Humber	12.57%

 

 

But does skipping breakfast actually matter?

 

So we’ve probably all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But is it really? And does it matter if we skip it altogether?

 

Well, one study showed that skipping breakfast is associated with being overweight amongst pre-school children. Others have shown similar statistics.

 

But the scientists are keen to point out that these are “observational” studies. In other words, while they can observe patterns they cannot determine cause.

 

It may well be true that children who skip breakfast are also likelier in such a study to be overweight, but we cannot say for sure using this data that skipping breakfast is the cause of it.

 

And indeed, other such observational studies have shown that people who eat breakfast generally also have healthier eating habits across and a higher fibre intake. This could be the reason for their statistically healthier bodyweight.

 

Myths like the fact that breakfast helps your metabolism have no scientific basis either.

 

But make no mistake. There are health benefits to breakfast. Cereals, which are Britain’s first choice breakfast, are often fortified with extra iron and vitamins helping us to make sure we get enough of these essential minerals. And some studies also suggest that having breakfast can help your mental performance and ability to focus early on in the day.

 

And, let’s face it, some of us just feel better after our toast, even if it is eaten on the go and we end up wearing our crumbs to work!