Modern Society and Breakfasts

Breakfast is identified as the most important meal of the day. It is also the meal which people often skip despite having health benefits such as helping in weight management, better energy and concentration, as well as better problem-solving skills (The Importance of Breakfast). From context, the word breakfast means breaking the fasting which lasted throughout the sleep. People prefer different meals for breakfast. Some go for cereals; some go for bread, some for rice, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausages etc.

Whatever kind of breakfast a person eats, as a habit, it is still related to a certain culture but modern culture has resulted in breakfast being neglected. From the data gathered from an interview, the Western style breakfast consists mostly one or more of the following: pancakes or waffles, cereals, bread, eggs, bacon, ham, sausages with milk, coffee, juice or tea. The interviewees said that they usually have breakfast as a family before but changing times resulted in not having to eat breakfast with other family members.

Some can still manage to eat with their family. Many now prepare their own breakfast and treat it as an individual activity. Due to a fast-paced life especially in the city, many people no longer have breakfast at home. They usually get breakfast on their way to work or school. In a modern society, people consider breakfast as an individual affair and very few people regard breakfast as a ritual, thus, family members have breakfast at different times. Many people have also been known to skip breakfast (Prevos, 2004).
The importance of eating breakfast cannot be denied. I study indicated that children who ate breakfast showed better performance in school. They have better test scores, have better behaviour and are less hyperactive (Jegtvig, 2008). Breakfast in an important meal but modern cultural influences have resulted in breakfast becoming an individual activity instead of being a group activity like it was considered before. More and more people are also skipping breakfast. Interviews: Person 1 • Eats pancakes, waffles or cereals, milk, fruit juice for breakfast.
• Breakfast is a group activity with family members • Pancakes and waffles go with maple syrup with milk or fruit juice for drinks. Eats breakfasts with family since all family members go to work or school early Person 2 • Eats eggs, cereal, bacon, ham, rice, milk or coffee for breakfast. • Breakfast is an individual activity. Family members wake up at different times but breakfast is served by mother. • Sometimes have breakfast on the way to work. Person 3 • Eats toasted bread, eggs, sausages, fruit juice or coffee for breakfast.
• Breakfast is an individual activity. • Cooks own breakfasts or have breakfast on the way to work. Person 4 • Does not eat breakfast. References Jegtvig, S. 20 August 2008. Eating Healthy Food Aids Learning. About. com. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://nutrition. about. com/od/ nutritionforchildren/a/dietandlearning. htm Prevos, P. 15 August 2004. Breakfast and Culture. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://prevos. net/ola/breakfast. pdf The Importance of Breakfast. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://www. bellybytes. com/articles/breakfast2. shtml