At least one in five Irish teenagers regularly skips breakfast, a new survey has found.

According to the findings, 21% of young people aged between 14 and 18 regularly skip the most important meal of the day. Of these, 71% do not eat breakfast three or more times a week.

Among young people aged 19-24, almost half (48%) skip breakfast regularly, with 30% of these skipping it three or more times a week.

The survey was carried out on behalf of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). The union is advising all young people involved in sport, particularly rugby, that breakfast is an essential part of their daily diet.

"A healthy breakfast will provide the necessary fuel at the start of the day to enable young players to make good decisions about pre-exercise meals, training snacks, recovery refuelling and hydration and enable them to perform to their maximum capability," noted IRFU performance nutritionist, Nora Ní Fhlannagáin.

She pointed out that people who eat breakfast every day are more likely to make positive food choices throughout the day, as a healthy breakfast prevents the body from having cravings, ‘which can result in poor food choices'.

"Breakfast is the foundation in building a healthy diet that will allow young athletes to perform to their full potential," Ms Ní Fhlannagáin added.

The survey involved almost 750 people throughout Ireland. The IRFU is highlighting the importance of breakfast as part of its Eat2Compete initiative for the 2014/15 season. For more information on this, click here