Eat Breakfast

Breakfast, it has been said, is the most important meal of the day, and about 93 percent of American adults do eat at least something in the morning, according to a small, independent survey of breakfast habits sponsored by the Kellogg Co.Not surprisingly, the telephone poll, surveying 500 adults at random across the country, found the most common breakfast food is cold cereal (49 percent), with toast (30 percent), eggs/omelets (28 percent), coffee/tea (28 percent) and juice (23 percent) following.

Baltimore schools will begin offering students free breakfasts to eat in their classrooms, an initiative that officials believe will pay for itself and improve academic readiness. The city school system has been providing free breakfasts for a few years, but participation has been low because students have had to come to school early to be served in the cafeteria and many viewed the food choices as unappetizing. Now, students will be able to grab breakfast boxes to take to their classrooms.

Breakfast is my least favorite meal, so I usually skip it. (I rarely have time for more than a cup of coffee anyway.) Is breakfast really that important? Yes, it is. Studies have shown that a balanced breakfast improves concentration and performance at work (or school) and helps with hunger management later in the day. Statistically, breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight and have a lower risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. But eating the right breakfast is essential.

Timothy Viverette selected a small container of Cheerios and a pint of milk, and grabbed a spoon and a napkin. The Magnolia Middle School seventh-grader took his breakfast back to his desk and began eating. "Last year I didn't eat breakfast and I would always be starving by lunchtime," he said while opening his milk carton. Breakfast has undergone a makeover at the Joppa school. Starting this year, the school began offering the Maryland Meals for Achievement Classroom Breakfast Program, which provides free breakfast in the classroom to students as a way to improve academic performance and attentiveness.

Breakfast is getting more nutritious, but fewer people are taking advantage of it, according to a breakfast trends analysis published recently in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.Here's the good news. Consumption of low-fat milk, whole grain bread, high fiber cereal, fruit and juice is up in the '90s compared to the '60s. Consumption of whole milk, bacon, eggs, white bread, low fiber cereal, butter and margarine is down for the same period.Now here's the bad news. Those with more than a high school education were more likely to eat breakfast in the '60s, and they still are in the '90s.

Sidney Ponson, the former Orioles' pitching ace jailed this week on a drunken driving conviction, requested that he serve his five-day sentence in protective custody at the Central Booking and Intake Center in Baltimore, according to state prison officials and his attorney. State officials confirmed yesterday that they had granted the request. Arthur Alperstein, Ponson's attorney, said it was normal for someone who has a "high profile" to be segregated from the jail's general population.

Timothy Viverette selected a small container of Cheerios and a pint of milk, and grabbed a spoon and a napkin. The Magnolia Middle School seventh-grader took his breakfast back to his desk and began eating. "Last year I didn't eat breakfast and I would always be starving by lunchtime," he said while opening his milk carton. Breakfast has undergone a makeover at the Joppa school. Starting this year, the school began offering the Maryland Meals for Achievement Classroom Breakfast Program, which provides free breakfast in the classroom to students as a way to improve academic performance and attentiveness.

When school bells ring, does the breakfast bell ring at your house, too?Children who eat breakfast perform better in school due to increased problem-solving ability, and better memory, verbal fluency and creativity. They're also less likely to be absent, according to the American Dietetic Association's Child Nutrition and Health Campaign.So how are your kids getting their learning advantage?The ideal approach would be for the whole family to sit down together for 15 minutes and indulge in a three-food-groups meal.

For as long as anyone can remember, mothers, nutritionists school nurses, troop leaders, home economics teachers, managers and coaches all said to "eat breakfast or else."Skipping breakfast ensured a sluggish brain and body, bad posture, poor grades, and much worse. The importance of breakfast to performance and health was a given. But is this still the case? Or has the breakfast adage gone by the wayside, along with "Potatoes are fattening" or "Eat meat at every meal"?Well, the old saw holds true.

Normally, Yasmiyn Gilmore eats breakfast at her school each day. The 10-year-old remembers all too well the one day a few weeks ago when she missed her morning meal. "My head started to hurt and my teacher sent me to the nurse," the fifth-grader at Collington Square School in East Baltimore recalled. As the Baltimore school system and others around the country work to improve student achievement, they are increasingly focusing on what has long been an obvious barrier: Kids can't learn when they come to class hungry.

Normally, Yasmiyn Gilmore eats breakfast at her school each day. The 10-year-old remembers all too well the one day a few weeks ago when she missed her morning meal. "My head started to hurt and my teacher sent me to the nurse," the fifth-grader at Collington Square School in East Baltimore recalled. As the Baltimore school system and others around the country work to improve student achievement, they are increasingly focusing on what has long been an obvious barrier: Kids can't learn when they come to class hungry.

Sidney Ponson, the former Orioles' pitching ace jailed this week on a drunken driving conviction, requested that he serve his five-day sentence in protective custody at the Central Booking and Intake Center in Baltimore, according to state prison officials and his attorney. State officials confirmed yesterday that they had granted the request. Arthur Alperstein, Ponson's attorney, said it was normal for someone who has a "high profile" to be segregated from the jail's general population.

Dublin, Ireland -- You can travel to Ireland and not visit the Cliffs of Moher or Bunratty Castle, but you can't not eat breakfast. The Emerald Isle has turned into a nation of bed-and-breakfasts, with the emphasis on the morning meal: eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, homemade breads, cold cereal, fresh fruit and juice, at the very least. The accommodations may be modest, and when you consult the guidebooks you quickly learn to be wary of B&B descriptions like "comfortable" rather than "spacious" and "luxurious."

What is the secret to keeping weight off? I can lose it, but I always gain it back. A grapefruit diet or a few weeks of strenuous exercise may torch pounds, but you can bet they'll be back faster than you can say "fad diet." Never has patience been more of a virtue than when it comes to weight loss. Here are the practices that time and again are proven companions to lasting weight loss. * Eat breakfast, but skip the late-night snacks. * Exercise 30-60 minutes each day. * Add protein and veggies, cut sugar and fat. * Eat smaller, more frequent meals.

Breakfast is my least favorite meal, so I usually skip it. (I rarely have time for more than a cup of coffee anyway.) Is breakfast really that important? Yes, it is. Studies have shown that a balanced breakfast improves concentration and performance at work (or school) and helps with hunger management later in the day. Statistically, breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight and have a lower risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. But eating the right breakfast is essential.

NO GOOD parent would willingly send a child to bed with an empty stomach. But start the school day without breakfast?It happens more than many of us would like to think. In some homes, especially in parts of Baltimore, the chief culprit is poverty. But in many others, the rat race is to blame.Shirley S. Kane, a food services and nutrition specialist for Baltimore City Public Schools, admits that even she sometimes skips breakfast, though nutrition is her job. Imagine how often that happens to families less aware of its importance, or less able to provide the food.

What is the secret to keeping weight off? I can lose it, but I always gain it back. A grapefruit diet or a few weeks of strenuous exercise may torch pounds, but you can bet they'll be back faster than you can say "fad diet." Never has patience been more of a virtue than when it comes to weight loss. Here are the practices that time and again are proven companions to lasting weight loss. * Eat breakfast, but skip the late-night snacks. * Exercise 30-60 minutes each day. * Add protein and veggies, cut sugar and fat. * Eat smaller, more frequent meals.

On New Year's Day, we got together for an at-home tailgate party before the Penn State game. Munching blue and white jelly beans, we all confessed the holidays had done us in. Like the rest of America, we had packed on some pounds.We four dietitians and our significant others felt especially chagrined. We are supposed to know better. We are supposed to have all the answers.But we are also human, and knowing better doesn't change the holiday pace that limits exercise or the tempting foods that abound throughout the season.

The American breakfast is getting more healthful, but fewer Americans are bothering to eat it.A study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that the classic American breakfast of bacon, eggs, whole milk, white toast and butter is becoming rare. Taking its place is a breakfast of whole-grain breads and high-fiber, ready-to-eat cereals.But the same study showed that 25 percent of adults don't eat breakfast at all, compared with 14 percent in 1961.

On New Year's Day, we got together for an at-home tailgate party before the Penn State game. Munching blue and white jelly beans, we all confessed the holidays had done us in. Like the rest of America, we had packed on some pounds.We four dietitians and our significant others felt especially chagrined. We are supposed to know better. We are supposed to have all the answers.But we are also human, and knowing better doesn't change the holiday pace that limits exercise or the tempting foods that abound throughout the season.