Embargoed until 7.30am
Thursday 27 July 2000 Media Statement

Minister launches Get Going with Breakfast Campaign

Education Minister Trevor Mallard today lent his support to a campaign aimed at encouraging teenagers to eat a decent breakfast each day.

The Get Going with Breakfast campaign was launched at Auckland's Aorere College this morning.

The campaign also includes a School Breakfast Programme in which 30 children from Aorere College and 30 children from West Papatoetoe Primary School would take part.

"I'm very interested in seeing the results of that programme," Trevor Mallard said.

"Anecdotally, I often hear teachers say that they notice a difference in their classes in situations where, for a variety of reasons, children don’t have breakfast.

"This is a chance to look at that more closely as the school will be monitoring the pupils academic, social behavioural, and physical improvements after having eaten breakfast each morning."

At this morning's launch, Trevor Mallard also endorsed the wider aims of the Get Going With Breakfast Campaign – that is to teach children how important it is to have breakfast each morning.

"A decent breakfast in the morning kick starts your brain and boosts the body's energy levels that drop during the night. It is the key to start your body in the morning and it provides the fuel to keep it going though the day.

"If I think about my own life I can see times when I slipped into that really bad habit of skipping breakfast. When you skip breakfast it does impact negatively on you for the rest of the day."

Information about Get Going With Breakfast is available on: http://www.getbreakfast.co.nz

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