Third of British workers skip breakfast
 

Will you have breakfast after reading this story?

A third of office workers would rather grab a few minutes extra sleep than breakfast, according to a survey that estimated poor eating habits were costing companies dearly in terms of lost productivity.

A survey by Ipsos Mori found 17 percent of British office workers never have breakfast and 17 percent have it just one to three times a week.

It found eight percent of 1,051 office staff questioned also regularly skip lunch, with these poor eating habits estimated to be costing companies 17 billion pounds ($34 billion) a year or 97 million lost working days.

"Worryingly, of those who rarely or never eat lunch, 27 percent also never eat breakfast during the working week," said Ipsos Mori researchers in a statement.

The survey, commissioned by food service company BaxterStorey, estimated skipping breakfast cost companies 8.1 billion pounds or 46.5 million lost working days, with many studies finding a link between eating breakfast and attention span, learning ability and general well-being.

When other poor eating habits such as having no breakfast and lunch or having no breakfast and snacks, are included, lost productivity rocketed to nearly 17 billion pounds.

The survey found most employees -- 92 percent -- have lunch, with 68 percent opting for sandwiches, but most people don't drink enough during the day. Only 11 percent had the recommended eight or more drinks during the working day.

"People who eat breakfast have better concentration, problem solving ability, mental performance, memory and mood.

People who eat breakfast are also more physically energetic and have better coordination," said nutrition specialist Matt Barker.

"Research tells us that scores on memory tests were about 15 percent lower in people who skipped breakfast. And those who skip it tend to eat sugary, fatty foods later in the day, reducing their productivity."

(Agencies)

一项调查显示，三分之一的上班族早上宁愿多睡几分钟，也不愿起床吃早餐。据该调查估计，员工不良的饮食习惯导致工作效率下降，从而给公司造成了巨大损失。

该项由益普索•莫里调查机构开展的调查发现，英国17%的办公室职员从不吃早餐，17%的人每周只吃一至三次早餐。

调查发现，在1051名受访的办公室职员中，8%的人经常不吃午餐。据估计，员工这些不良的饮食习惯每年给公司造成了170亿英镑（相当于9700万个工作日）的损失。

益普索•莫里调查机构在一份声明中说：“令人担忧的是，在那些很少或从来不吃午餐的人中，27%的人也从不吃早餐。”

据该项由BaxterStorey食品服务公司委托开展的调查估计，员工不吃早餐给公司造成的损失约81亿英镑（相当于4650万个工作日）。很多研究发现，是否吃早餐会影响注意力集中时间长度、学习能力及总体幸福感。

如果将其它一些不良的饮食习惯也算上，如不吃早餐和午餐或不吃早餐吃零食，公司所遭受的损则高达近170亿英镑。

调查发现，大多数员工（92%）吃午餐，其中68%的员工吃三明治；但大多数人每天摄水量不够，仅有11%的人每天喝水量达到建议的八杯水或者更多。

营养专家马特•巴克说：“吃了早餐的人注意力更加集中、解决问题的能力更强，智力表现、记忆力和心情也更好。此外，吃早餐的人更具活力，身体协调性更好。”

“研究人员称，不吃早餐的人记忆力测试得分约低15%。而且早上不吃饭的人之后可能会吃甜食和高脂肪食品，从而会影响他们的工作效率。”