IT'S said to be the most important meal of the day, yet nearly a quarter of the British population skips breakfast every morning.

Whether you eat a bowl of cereal, a slice of toast or a full English fry-up there's no doubting that it sets you up for the rest of the day.

This week is the seventh annual National Breakfast Week organised by cereal-giants Kellogg's.

The campaign is aiming to highlight the benefits of breakfast, whether it's better physical performance, improvements in mood and stress levels or increased intelligence and IQ.

"Research has shown the many benefits of a healthy breakfast," said television medic, Dr Hilary Jones.

"Breakfast is essential in providing our bodies with the energy that we need for the day ahead."

Kellogg's say that people who eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast are likely to be slimmer than those who skip the meal.

They are also likely to smell better as those who don't eat breakfast are prone to halitosis!

This year's campaign coincides with the start of the Sydney Olympics, which have been sponsored by the cereal producers.

One of the competitors heading down under knows how important a good breakfast is - in fact he eats two.

Gold medallist in 1992, rower Greg Searle says he needs to keep himself re-fuelled while training.

"I have my first breakfast at 6.30am before I drive to Henley-on-Thames to train, that's usually bran flakes and some tea.

"After training I'll have beans on toast and some Special K."

The rower, who won gold in the coxed pairs with his brother Jonny and cox Garry Herbert, is now preparing to take on the coxless pairs in the Sydney games.

Kelloggs cereal sprang to life in the 1890s when Will Keith Kellogg and his brother Dr John Harvey Kellogg experimented with wheat.

The pair discovered a method of flattening wheat berries into small, thin flakes, which when baked became crisp and light.

In 1906 these became known as Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes produced by the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company.

By 1916 All-Bran had been developed and by 1928 the brother's Rice Krispies had hit the shops.

At the turn of the century Kellogg's was responsible for more than 240 million boxes of Corn Flakes a year, and for more than 15 types of cereal sold in the UK.

But cereal is not the only healthy substance available for breakfast eating.

Most people rely on a slice of toast and marmalade for their wake up call, and whether you eat it on the go or sitting at the table with the paper there's no doubting that bread is a favourite at every mealtime.

Bread-makers Nimble have a selection of low calorie loaves, which they claim will fill you up without weighing you down.

"Delicious and nutritious and at less than 50 calories a slice, Nimble means that you don't have to scrimp on taste if you mean to stay in shape," said Maria Greaves of Nimble.

The bread, which is available in white, wholemeal and amazing grain - mixture of wheat flakes and wheat bran, has been on supermarket shelves for more than 45 years.

While most people claim to eat some sort of breakfast the truth is that a cup of coffee and a rushed slice of bread don't constitute a wholesome meal.

A straw poll of the editorial office at the Evening News showed that more than three-quarters of workers ate breakfast in the morning - the national average according to the Kellogg's findings.

"I just don't find time in the morning to sit down and eat," said one.

While another claimed to be better off grazing throughout the day on sandwiches.

"Not only are there many health benefits to eating cereal, it takes just five minutes to prepare and eat and it tastes great," said Gabby Yorath, sports commentator and television presenter.

"I can't understand why so many people are missing out."

Breakfast literally means break-the-fast, by the time you get up you may not have eaten for up to 12 hours.

More than 1,647.7 million bowlfuls of Kellogg's corn flakes are eaten every year in the UK.

In each 500g box you can find an estimated 2,790 flakes.

The corn flakes inventor also invented peanut butter and the electric blanket.

In 1997 a survey showed that French children thought corn flakes grew in fields.

It takes 140 days of sunshine to grow the corn that makes Kellogg's corn flakes.