Students start the day with healthy breakfast

Children at the Marsascala primary school were yesterday given the opportunity to experience a healthy breakfast with their friends, making it a day of fun while learning about a better way to start their day.

The education division said that on the initiative of the school's assistant head, a healthy breakfast for all the children in the school was organised.

Teachers prepared the children for the day by including projects about healthy eating during their lessons. Training on the subject was extended to parents who were invited to a talk by Lucienne Pace, a nutritionist at the Health Promotion Department.

The Healthy Breakfast at School initiative was launched by Marianne Massa from the Health Promotion Department a few years ago at Kirkop Primary School. Since then, a number of primary schools have organised the event as a learning experience for young children.

Data from the Health Behaviour of School Aged Children Study carried out last year shows that only 52 per cent of Maltese children have breakfast before going to school.

Research has established a link between breakfast and student attentiveness, their motivation to learn and their academic achievement. Similar studies have also shown that children who have breakfast everyday have an altogether healthier diet and grow to be healthier individuals.