MPs put to the test on an empty stomach
Published by The Times, Written by: Henry Zeffman, Associate Political Editor - Friday January 06 2023, 9.30am,
Should an MP arrive at the House of Commons having missed breakfast, they can grab a quick snack or a full English from one of the multiple cafeterias in the Palace of Westminster.
But what if arriving at work without breakfast meant that they would not be able to eat for hours? How would it affect an MP’s work? Those questions were at the heart of a “no breakfast breakfast” hosted in parliament last month by Magic Breakfast, a charity being supported by this year’s The Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal.
Half of the guests, who were MPs from across parties, were told to eat breakfast before; half were told to arrive hungry. The MPs were then challenged to perform a series of cognitive tasks.
One involved dragging a hook across a wire without touching the wire and setting off a buzzer. In another task the names of colours were written on a piece of paper but in a different colour. MPs had to say the word written down rather than the colour it was written down in.
The programme was designed by Dr Simon Moore, a behavioural scientist. The tasks, he said, “aimed to monitor participants’ ability to problem-solve at both a physical and cognitive level”.
On the buzzer test, the group of MPs who had not had breakfast made 80 per cent more mistakes, while on the word test they made 60 per cent more mistakes.
“Upon deeper consideration of results, it is clear that the effects of no breakfast on adult behaviour can impact both cognitive and physical functioning,” Moore said. “When you apply this to the real world and shift focus to a much younger group, ie children, the effects will be much greater.
“Many children experience no access to breakfast day in and day out, with huge impacts on growth and social interaction, therefore providing a barrier to positive and effective learning experiences.”
The event — which was also hosted by Arla, the dairy cooperative — was sponsored by David Mundell, a former Scottish secretary under David Cameron and Theresa May, and others who took part included the environment minister Mark Spencer and the Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck.
Mundell said that he found the event very effective and compelling. “It was important to see it reaffirming really what we know, which is that if you skip breakfast you’re not in the best position to face the day . . . if kids don’t have a breakfast, the value they get out of their day at school is greatly reduced. It’s not only nutritional, it’s actually contributing to having a more productive day on all levels.”
He was in the group which was allowed to eat breakfast before — though admitted finding the buzzer test very difficult. MPs who arrived hungry found it hard to concentrate, with one confessing that they were distracted by a “rumbling stomach”.
Founded in 2003, Magic Breakfast provides healthy breakfasts every day to 200,000 children at 1,000 schools in deprived areas of England and Scotland.
Mundell said: “These are quite simple things and I think that’s really how you move forward. There’s huge issues around child poverty — they’re not resolved by one grand gesture. What you need to be doing is taking incremental steps and working to get kids a breakfast every day is one of those steps and one of the most straightforward and deliverable steps.
“There’s always a debate — and we’ve been through this debate on many occasions — as to how is the best way to do that in terms of directing money to the household or whether it’s breakfast actually provided at school. But the outcome is what’s important — which is that a child has a breakfast in the morning. The most effective way of doing that might vary from school to school and community to community.”
Spencer said: “I think it’s important to get the message across that breakfast is a very important part of the day. It helps you concentrate and it’s vital for school kids to get a healthy breakfast before they go to school.”
Lewell-Buck, the MP for South Shields, said: “I know myself if I haven’t had my breakfast, I can’t function and I can’t concentrate. So god knows how the millions of children going to school every day are able to learn without a breakfast in their stomachs.”
Every £1 donated to Magic Breakfast will be doubled up to £358,000, thanks to Barratt Developments, which pledged £75,000, CVC which pledged £50,000, and three additional donors.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/christmas-appeal-mps-put-to-the-test-at-no-breakfast-breakfast-7vpd26k3l