Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they are affected physically and mentally due to lack of a regular breakfast routine, while only 9 percent ate a balanced diet, a Formosa Cancer Foundation survey showed.
Thirty percent of respondents do not eat breakfast at home, saying it is more expedient to buy it, said Hsu Kuei-ting (徐桂婷), the foundation’s nutritionist, citing its most recent poll on nutritional intake for people aged 20 to 60.
The poll showed that 60 percent believe they do not eat breakfasts that have balanced nutrition.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
At 62 percent, convenience was the most commonly cited factor in deciding whether to eat breakfast, while 55 percent responded that price was the top factor, Hsu said.
Only 22 percent said that they assess nutritional balance of breakfasts, while 19 percent said they pay attention to whether the food is natural, the survey showed.
Nine percent were concerned whether they had a sufficient balance of vegetables and fruits, Hsu said, adding that they are the sources of nutrition most Taiwanese do not get enough of.
However, respondents said that they tend to consume fruit at noon or night, with more than 60 percent consuming fruit between 5pm and 9pm, the survey showed.
Intake of fruits and vegetables should be balanced across all meals, Hsu said.
Taiwanese regularly report poor sleep quality, constipation or diarrhea, and are commonly borderline on many health indices, she said.
Women aged 30 to 39 had the worst mental and physical fitness scores out of all polled individuals, the survey showed.
The top three combinations of breakfast foods were bread and soybean milk, bread and coffee, and Taiwanese-style omelets with soybean milk, it showed.
If bread has a filling, it might be too rich, while sandwiches with pork floss, other meat products or jam run the risk of making a high-calorie breakfast with too much processed foods, Hsu said.
People should eat mostly whole foods and avoid food with a high glycemic index, while they should have at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, she said.
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