Reheated fish and chips, cold pizza, and beer on cornflakes are becoming more regular items on Kiwi breakfast tables according to new research.

Fast food breakfasts are now common place, with many people skipping breakfast altogether, or just having coffee according to a new survey of Bay of Plenty breakfast habits.

Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day but many Kiwis are either choosing unhealthy foods to eat or skipping it completely. Photo: File

The Sanitarium Better Brekkie survey finds the traditional family sit-down breakfast is shared more with parents of pre-school children, with about a third of them sitting down with their families two to six mornings a week.

When it comes to breakfast, most New Zealanders surveyed said breakfast is still 'the most important meal of the day”, but many either skip it or choose something unhealthy.

A quarter of those surveyed in the Bay of Plenty say they give breakfast a miss between two and seven days per week, with a further 37 per cent opting for just a hot drink.

Of those who do eat breakfast, almost a fifth eat the same breakfast every day, and 18 per cent admitting their worst breakfast is cold pizza.

But more than four in ten, or 44 per cent of Bay of Plenty residents still sit down as a family to eat breakfast.

Nationwide about ten per cent of New Zealanders have a fast food breakfast at least once a week or more. This figure is highest among young adults (18-24) with almost a quarter, 23 per cent of them admitting to regularly eating a fast food breakfast.

Many Kiwis say they often don't bother to eat breakfast with eight percent saying they skip the meal every day. A further fifth of all Kiwis, 19 per cent, say they give breakfast a miss at least twice a week.

Young millennials are more likely to go without a healthy breakfast with almost half, 46 per cent of those aged 18-24 saying they skip the meal most days of the week. Of those who always skip breakfast, seven out of ten, 71 per cent often opt for just a hot beverage.

Tea, hot chocolate or coffee is breakfast for more than a sixth, or 17 per cent of New Zealand adults. The number is higher for those in the Generation X age group with more than a fifth, 21 per cent choosing hot drinks.

The most guilty breakfast choices are cold pizza 24 per cent, chocolate, 13 per cent, pie or biscuits 12 per cent. Other options include; ice cream, reheated fish and chips, pavlova, leftover party food from the night before, and beer and cold chips.

Only a quarter surveyed claim to ever eat healthy breakfasts.

'Most fast food breakfasts are not ideal as they are generally energy dense and nutrient poor meaning that they are high kilojoules and usually also high in fat and sugar and low in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals,” says Sanitarium nutritionist Susan Buxton.

While many fast food outlets are trying to provide better options, those going to eat at these outlets may not choose the healthier choice.

The research was commissioned in conjunction with the Weet-Bix Better Brekkie Programme a partnership between the popular breakfast brand and celebrity chef Michael Van De Elzen who has created a selection of breakfast recipes.