This is leading to poor concentration, bad attendance and is one of the leading causes of childhood obesity (*children choose high sugar, high fat alternatives prior to or during lunch).

At 8.30am on Sunday July 18 at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush Bay, Red Cross is holding their second annual Fun Run to raise money for the Good Start Breakfast Club – a community program that feeds primary school children who would otherwise go hungry.

The warm up to the City to Surf is a 10km run or 5km run / walk and is open to the whole community, with $4 from each entry fee being donated to Red Cross' Good Start Breakfast Club program.

Enter online through Global Elite Events - pre entries close on Friday July 16.

Ironman competitor and Australian Triathlon Champion, Melissa Ashton, will join Half Ironman Series Champion, Nick Saunders, and a host of other top line athletes - including the PowerBar and HERT Racing Teams - in taking part in this year’s Fun Run.

Both Ashton and Saunders will be using the event as a warm-up to this year's Korean Ironman Series event, to be staged during August.

Marc Thompson, Spokesperson for the Good Start Breakfast Club, said: 'Each morning in schools of most need around Australia, volunteers server a nutritious breakfast of cereal, toast and juice to primary school-aged children who would otherwise go hungry.'

The Good Start Breakfast Club is a community program conducted by the Australian Red Cross in partnership with Sanitarium Health Food Company.

There are currently 50 Good Start Breakfast Clubs in operation throughout the country, with 20 clubs running in the Sydney area.

Last year through the Good Start Breakfast Club, more than 500 Australian Red Cross volunteers in NSW served over 100,000 breakfasts to children who would otherwise go hungry.

This is an alarming statistic considering skipping breakfast is now regarded as a major contributor to childhood obesity and can also greatly affect a child's ability to concentrate and behave at school.

The Fun Run will kick off at 8.30am and each participant that enters before July 18 receives a free Red Cross Fun Run Tee-Shirt and promotional bag.

If you would like to participate in this year's Red Cross Fun Run, and help 'run childhood obesity out of Australia', enter online, or call Global Elite Events on (02) 9999 6066.

1. Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Study, The University of Sydney, 2004