Two out of three say they eat a healthy breakfast

BreakfastBreakfast.Photo: pixabay.com

66 percent say they always or often start the day with a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Nutrition professor Birger Svihus hopes it means that they actually eat healthy.

 

It is a survey conducted by Norstat on behalf of Orkla, which shows that the vast majority believe that they are always or often getting a healthy and nutritious breakfast. 18 percent say they eat healthy breakfast every now and then while 12 percent responded that they rarely or never eat breakfast.

“It’s great that so many people say they eat healthy, but at the same time the question is – what’s a healthy breakfast? It all depends on the level of activity and the total food intake for the day,” says Professor Birger Svihus from the Norwegian Environment and Biological Sciences University to NTB.

He has previously created a uproar by going out and saying that breakfast may be today’s least important meal.

– What did you eat for breakfast today?

“Nothing,” says Svihus, similar to 3 percent of those surveyed.

Disputed
The keyhole, the authorities’ branding scheme for healthier foods, is also the subject of the survey. A total of 96 percent have heard about the Keyhole. About 46 percent often or occasionally look after the trademark when they shop. Svihus is one of several who has been skeptical about the scheme.

“Having a keyhole mark on a food item does not necessarily mean it’s healthy, something many mistakenly believe. The label simply means that the product meets certain criteria that make it healthier than other alternatives in the same category. It’s a relative ranking and it creates misunderstandings,” he says.

Young people and women are generally the most concerned with eating healthy, compared to people over 50 years and men. Svihus hopes they show a little common sense and not just pick good with the keyhole trademark.

Lots of sugar
Svihus explains that cereal is an example of a category where the keyhole does not automatically mean healthy. To get a keyhole mark, a cereal mixture may contain up to 13 grams of sugars and 1 gram of salt per 100 grams.

“That is actually quite a lot of salt and sugar. There is so much else that you can eat for breakfast that is better and healthier, but does not have a keyhole trademark stuck on it, such as pure raw materials like eggs and vegetables,” Svihus says.

According to the survey, 19 percent of consumers often look for keyhole on cereals. Among younger people, the proportion is 52 percent.

– “If they are absolutely going to eat cereal, then the variants with keyhole are less unhealthy than the others. But for many, it would be a better idea to look for something else to eat, with much less salt and less sugars,” Svihus says.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today