世論 What Japan Thinks

This report by DIMSDRIVE Research into breakfast goes into far more detail than is healthy, I suspect! The fieldwork was conducted over three months ago, but it didn’t get published until last month. It’s also a subject that has been covered before on this blog.

Demographics

Between the 30th of April and 8th of May 2008 7,965 members of the DIMSDRIVE monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.7% of the sample were female, 1.0% in their teens, 13.4% in their twenties, 36.1% in their thirties, 29.9% in their forties, 13.4% in their fifties, and 6.2% aged sixty or older.

I eat breakfast in every day (barring horrendous oversleeping!), but my special treat once every couple or months or so is to head down to a local English-style cafe and indulge in their full English breakfast, or if I’m running a little late, an early afternoon tea.

Research results

Q1: How often do you eat breakfast? (Sample size=7,965)

Every day	66.1%
Five or six times a week	11.1%
Three or four times a week	7.0%
Once or twice a week	5.6%
Less than that (to Q11)	4.2%
Never eat breakfast (to Q11)	6.0%

Barring teenagers, the older one got the more likely one was to eat breakfast every day. Only 46.1% of men in their twenties ate every day, whereas 91.1% of men over sixty did. For women it was a similar story: 56.7% in their twenties versus 86.3% in aged sity or older.

By occupation, 92.2% of all retired people ate breakfast every day, with housewives or househusbands second at 74.7, and civil servants third at 73.8%. Self-employed were least likely to eat every day, with only 56.2% doing so. Next were the unemployed at 56.5%, then regular full-time employees at 62.0%.

Looking at the two major connurbations, in Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures 62.7% ate breakfast every day, but in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures 71.0% did. Without having information about the employment status of the respondents, it is rather difficult to draw conclusions. A wild guess might suggest longer commutes factor into the lower regularity in the capital.

Q2: When do you most often eat breakfast? (Sample size=7,151)

Before 5 am	0.8%
Between 5 am and 6 am	4.8%
Between 6 am and 7 am	26.9%
Between 7 am and 8 am	42.4%
Between 8 am and 9 am	14.9%
Between 9 am and 10 am	4.6%
After 10 am	1.5%
No fixed time	4.1%

Q3: Where do you often eat breakfast? (Sample size=7,151, multiple answer)

At home	96.0%
At work, school	5.8%
At restaurant (excluding take-out)	3.0%
In car, train, etc	2.6%
On the street	0.8%
Other	0.3%

Q4: What do you often eat or drink at breakfast? (Sample size=7,151, multiple answer)

Main dish

Bread (including burger, pizza, etc)	68.2%
Rice	53.0%
Cereal	11.0%
Pasta, noodles	6.0%
Pancake, waffle	5.7%
Nutritionally-balanced food (Calorie Mate, etc)	4.1%

Side dish

Eggs	33.4%
Miso soup	31.1%
Natto	21.8%
Meat (including ham, sausage, etc)	21.7%
Salad, vegetables	18.5%
Soup	10.8%
Fish	10.3%
Tofu	7.1%

Dessert

Yoghurt	32.2%
Fruit	18.0%
Cheese	7.7%
Cake, doughnuts	3.7%
Sweets	2.8%

Drinks

Coffee, cafe au lait	39.0%
Milk	25.9%
Tea (green, black)	25.4%
Vegetable juice	14.9%
Mineral water	5.1%
Soya milk	3.9%
Other juice	2.7%
Home-made juice	1.7%
Drinkable jelly	1.6%
Other	1.8%

Drinkable jellies are usually nutritionally-balanced foods that come in a squeezable pack.

Q5: What do you try to do when you eat breakfast? (Sample size=7,151, multiple answer)

Strive to eat every day	73.3%
Eat well-balanced	23.5%
Not take a long time at breakfast	19.4%
Not overeat	17.1%
Not strain my digestion	8.2%
Eat with family	8.0%
Take time to eat slowly	5.2%
Reduce energy/calories	4.9%
Take sugars	4.5%
Take lots of energy/calories	4.0%
Eat early	2.5%
Other	0.8%
Nothing in particular	9.4%

Q6: When you don’t eat breakfast, what differences do you feel from days when you do eat breakfast? (Sample size=7,151, multiple answer)

Stomach painfully empty by lunchtime	42.7%
No get up and go	24.0%
Eat snacks	16.3%
Can’t work so well	13.9%
Overeat at lunch	12.3%
Don’t make progress with work, study	11.9%
Disrupted bowel movements	10.8%
Feel dizzy, anemic, etc	6.9%
Sleepier than usual	4.1%
Stomachache	3.5%
Other differences	1.0%
Don’t feel any particular difference	13.6%
Feel better if I don’t eat	1.7%
Never miss breakfast	20.9%

Q6: At home, on average how long do you take for breakfast? (Sample size=6,866, those who often eat at home)

5 minutes or less	7.6%
6 to 10 minutes	30.6%
11 to 15 minutes	28.6%
16 to 20 minutes	16.6%
21 to 30 minutes	11.6%
31 minutes to 1 hour	4.0%
More than 1 hour	0.2%
Don’t know	0.8%

Q7: At a restaurant, on average how long do you take for breakfast? (Sample size=213, those who often eat at restaurants)

5 minutes or less	2.3%
6 to 10 minutes	16.9%
11 to 15 minutes	26.8%
16 to 20 minutes	19.7%
21 to 30 minutes	20.2%
31 minutes to 1 hour	10.8%
More than 1 hour	0.0%
Don’t know	3.3%

Q8: What sorts of restaurants do you often eat breakfast at? (Sample size=213, those who often eat at restaurants, multiple answer)

Fast food restaurant	60.1%
Cafe, coffee shop	53.1%
Udon, soba noodle shop	23.0%
Donburi rice bowl shop	21.1%
Family restaurant	21.1%
Old-style coffee house on street	20.7%
Train station shop	13.6%
Convenience store	10.8%
Fixed-menu shop	8.9%
Other restaurant	3.8%
Other	1.4%

Q9: What are the good points about eating out for breakfast? (Sample size=213, those who often eat at restaurants, multiple answer)

Don’t need to prepare, tidy up	59.6%
Can eat as soon as I get there	55.9%
Can eat quickly	46.0%
Reasonable price	37.1%
Can select from various items	34.3%
Close to work, home	31.9%
Can relax, cheer up	31.9%
Delicious	22.5%
Cheaper than making at home	9.4%
Can eat a balanced meal	7.3%
Other	3.3%
Nothing in particualar	2.3%

Q10: On average, about how much do you spend for breakfast at restaurants? (Sample size=213, those who often eat at restaurants)

300 yen	11.7%
500 yen	70.4%
1,000 yen	15.0%
1,500 yen	1.9%
2,000 yen	0.5%
More than that	0.0%
Don’t know	0.5%

All the regular breakfast eaters finish here, with the last question for the habitual breakfast skippers.

Q11: Why do you rarely, never eat breakfast? (Sample size=814, multiple answer)

No custom of eating breakfast	48.5%
Can’t get up in time, would rather sleep	33.9%
Don’t have time to eat	32.4%
Not hungry	22.9%
Get up late so just eat lunch	22.6%
Bothersome to prepare, tidy up	17.1%
Can’t eat breakfast due to health, etc	16.1%
Better for the body not to eat breakfast	12.7%
Upsets my stomach	8.1%
Nothing to eat at home	5.4%
Saving money	5.3%
For weight loss	4.5%
Get sleepy if I eat	2.7%
Other	1.7%
No particular reason	5.5%