Six in Ten (60%) Canadians Report Eating Breakfast Every Day

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a new study, conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of McDonalds Canada, six in ten (60%) Canadians report that they eat breakfast every day of an average week. On average, Canadians eat breakfast five out of seven days (mean 5.3). Just one in twenty (7%) say they never eat breakfast.

Of the remaining four in ten Canadians, the top reason provided on why they do not consume a breakfast each day is that they are "just not hungry" (42%). Closely following this response is that they simply have a "lack of time" (38%). Meanwhile, just two percent blame on "a lack of food in the house", while 18% said it was "some other reason".

When asked what activities they have tried in order to save time in the morning, the largest proportion, one in four (26%), say they have "skipped breakfast", while one in five (21%) report having eaten "breakfast on the go". Other morning time saving activities have included "skipping their morning shower" (10%), "shaving or applying make-up in the car/subway" (5%), "getting up earlier in the morning" (4%), while one percent mentioned having slept in their clothes or "getting clothes ready the night before" (1%). Three in ten (31%) respondents said they had never done any of these activities to save time in the morning, and five percent mentioned other time saving activities, that individual do not add up to a one percent threshold.

And finally, Canadians appear to savour a complete hot breakfast (61%) more than a passionate romantic encounter (35%) as their preferred way to start the day.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of McDonald's Canada between May 20th and May 22nd, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Six in ten (60%) Canadians report that they eat breakfast every day of an average week. On average, Canadians eat breakfast five out of seven days (mean 5.3). Just one in twenty (7%) say they never eat breakfast.

• Regionally, residents of Quebec (74%) are the most likely to report eating everyday. This compares to the actions of those in British Columbia (58%), Alberta (56%), Atlantic Canada (55%), Ontario (54%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (52%). On average, Quebecer's eat breakfast six out of seven days (mean 5.8).
• Women, on average eat breakfast 5.4 days out of the week, compared to the average of 5.1 recorded for men.
• Older (mean 6.1 times) Canadians eat breakfast, on average, more times per week than do middle aged (mean 5.0 times) or younger adults (mean 4.8 times).

Of the remaining four in ten Canadians, the top reason provided on why they do not consume a breakfast each day of the week is that they are "just not hungry" (42%). Closely following is that they simply have a "lack of time" (38%). Meanwhile, just two percent blame "a lack of food in the house", while 18% said it was "some other reason".

• Quebecers (64%) are the most likely to indicate they do not eat breakfast everyday because they are "just not hungry", while Ontarians (44%) are more likely than those in British Columbia (28%) or Quebec (26%) to say the reason they don't eat breakfast every day is due to a "lack of time".
• Older (52%) respondents are more likely than are young adults (36%) to say they don't eat breakfast everyday because they are "just not hungry", while younger adults (48%) are more likely to say they suffer from a "lack of time" in the morning to eat breakfast than do their middle aged (35%) or older (22%) cohorts.
• Respondents from middle income households (45%) are statistically more likely than their counterparts from lower income households (26%) to report a "lack of time" as the reason they do not eat breakfast every morning.

When asked what activities they have tried in order to save time in the morning, the largest proportion, one in four (26%), say they have "skipped breakfast", while one in five (21%) report having eaten "breakfast on the go". Other morning time saving activities have included "skipping their morning shower" (10%), "shaving or applying make-up in the car/subway" (5%), "getting up earlier in the morning" (4%), while one percent mentioned having slept in their clothes or "getting clothes ready the night before" (1%). Three in ten (31%) respondents said they had never done any of these activities to save time in the morning, and five percent mentioned other time saving activities, that individual do not add up to a one percent threshold.

• One in three (35%) Ontarians report skipping breakfast as a morning time saver. This is significantly more than reported by residents of Atlantic Canada (22%), British Columbia (20%) or Quebec (17%). Skipping breakfast is also more likely to be reported by middle aged (33%) and young adult (30%) Canadians than by their older (15%) counterparts. This technique is also more likely to be employed by Canadians from upper income households (32%) than by those in lower income households (23%).
• As for eating on the go, women (23% versus 19% of men) and young adults (34% versus 21% of middle aged and 9% of older Canadians) are more likely to report this activity.
• Younger adult Canadians (13%) are more likely than are older Canadians (7%) to report "skipping their morning shower" as a way to save time in the morning.

And finally, Canadians appear to savour a complete hot breakfast as a day starter (61%) more than a passionate romantic encounter (35%).

• Quebecers (79%) are the most likely in the country to say they would prefer to start their day with a complete hot breakfast than by having a passionate romantic encounter (20%).
• Women (68%) are statistically more likely than men (54%) to opt for a complete hot breakfast as a day starter, while men (42%) are statistically more likely than women (27%) to choose a passionate romantic encounter to start the day over a complete hot breakfast.
• Older (72%) Canadians are more likely than are their younger (60%) or middle aged (54%) counterparts to opt for a complete hot breakfast, while middle aged (43%) and younger adults (36%) are statistically more likely than are older (21%) Canadians to opt for a passionate romantic encounter to start the day.
• Canadians from lower income households (68%) are significantly more likely to opt for a complete hot breakfast in the morning than are their counterparts in upper income households (55%). Meanwhile, Canadians in upper income households (42%) are statistically more likely than are those in middle (34%) or lower (29%) income households to indicate they would choose a passionate romantic encounter to start the day over a complete hot breakfast.

To view the factum and detailed tables, please open the attached PDF files.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900