Breakfast now lasts just three minutes and 15 seconds during the week, a study has revealed.
Researchers found that almost half those questioned admitted that just about manage to squeeze in the first meal of the day before they leave the house for the office.
It also emerged that nearly half of us have our breakfast on our feet, usually while we're getting ready for work.
Furthermore, the study revealed that by December 7th we most of us are eating a hot breakfast to get us through the cold early morning starts.
The figures emerged in a report carried out Weetabix to launch their ‘Try it Hot’ campaign.
Sian Porter, Weetabix’s consultant nutritionist and dietician, says: “It’s a fact that people who miss breakfast don’t make up nutritionally later in the day. We’re all getting busier which means making the time to eat a healthy breakfast which will help to get us through the day is more important than ever .
“There are a number of things you can do to kick-start a good breakfast routine. Trying something different such as adding hot milk can help you to get out of that breakfast rut. You could even set the alarm just 5-10 minutes earlier to create an extra pocket of time you didn’t have before, or keep something healthy at work for your ‘deskfast’. All of these things will also help you to save money by not buying breakfast on the run and will stop you reaching for that maybe less than healthy mid-morning snack.”
Nearly half (49 per cent) of Brits say they often find themselves getting so distracted by work emails, Facebook and even the morning television that they only just about manage to squeeze in the first meal of the day in.
The study found only two thirds of people find the time to sit and eat breakfast on a week day morning with a third admitting that they prefer to lie-in instead.
At home, it appears the kitchen is no longer the room of choice when it comes to eating breakfast, with nearly two-thirds eating in their bedroom or another room in the house. 1 in 20 even admit that they’ve resorted to eating breakfast in the bathroom to save time in the morning.
More than a third eat breakfast on the go with Brits admitting to cramming in breakfast while on the bus, the train, in bed. One in five of us have grabbed something as we ran out the door and eaten it while we walked down the street and a similar amount only eat half of their breakfast before having to leave the house.
Twenty two per cent eat their breakfast whilst get dressed and more than a third eat it while moving around the house.
Over a third (38 per cent) say they have a lot less time for breakfast than they did five years ago, with most blaming the fact that they feel the pressure to get in to work earlier. Eight out of ten are so busy in a morning they eat a ‘deskfast’ at least three times a week.
Despite this three quarters of Brits think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
More Brits prefer a hot breakfast to a cold one with seven in ten eating a hot breakfast all year long.
Sian adds: “Encouragingly, the research indicated that possibly 1.2 million of us find time to eat a hot breakfast every single morning and demonstrates that Brits do understand the importance of breakfast, even going as far as eating it on the bus, or in the bathroom, to try and fit it in.
“Our biggest challenge is to put breakfast back into our morning routine so that people, especially kids, spend time in the morning making sure they’re getting the energy and nutrients they need to help them get through those busy days.”
Only twenty nine per cent of parents sit down and eat breakfast with their kids every day with a third admitting their kids often leave the house without breakfast and a fifth letting their children eat breakfast while in the car on the way to work.
Weekends are a different story though with Brits spending longer enjoying their breakfast with Sunday’s being the day at which we take the longest.
