This post is co-authored by Jose Luis Prado, President, Quaker Foods and Snacks North America, PepsiCo // Eating a healthy breakfast is a fundamental step in building a nutritious, total diet that meets the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A growing body of research supports eating breakfast regularly for heart health, lower body weight and improved overall diet quality. Breakfast consumers tend to have higher micronutrient intakes, partly because of the fortification of breakfast cereals, and have a better macronutrient profile than “breakfast skippers” (1). Studies in children suggest that breakfast eaters are more likely to meet daily nutrient intake guidelines compared with children who eat breakfast infrequently or skip breakfast (2). Evidence suggests that regular breakfast consumers also have healthier body weights than those who skip breakfast (3). It has been suggested that skipping breakfast may lead to overall greater levels of hunger later in the... Read more

In 1963, the U.S. Congress requested the President issue a proclamation designating February as American Heart Month. Beginning in 1964, these presidential proclamations have urged Americans to take action for the prevention and control of diseases of the heart and blood vessels and their major risk factors. These proclamations typically inform Americans of the huge social, economic, and human toll of heart disease and adverse trends such as the rising tide of risk factors and associated health care costs. The grim statistics quoted annually can truly spell bad news! As President Obama noted in this year’s proclamation, heart disease is “a staggering health problem” and remains the “leading cause of death for American women and men.” Recent data supporting genuine concern about heart health are well-documented in the 2011 update of the Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics published by the American Heart Association (AHA), in conjunction... Read more