Why you Shouldn't Skip Breakfast

You remember the other day when we said you shouldn't skip breakfast? If the fitness and nutritional benefits weren't enough to convince you, take a look at this.

A world first study conducted by Menzies Research Institute Tasmania has shown that skipping breakfast over a long period of time may increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

This new study was recently published online in the international journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Skipping breakfast is a fairly common practice with 23 per cent of adults and 10 per cent of children reporting they did not regularly eat breakfast in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (Australia) and there is evidence that skipping breakfast is becoming more common.

Previous studies have shown eating breakfast is good for weight management.

First author and chief investigator of the paper, Menzies’ PhD student Kylie Smith says results from our new study show that not only is breakfast good for weight management, but it is also good for reducing other risk factors for heart disease and diabetes such as blood insulin and cholesterol levels, independently of weight.

“People who reported skipping breakfast both during childhood and adulthood had more risk factors for diabetes and heart disease than their peers who ate breakfast at both times in the study,” she said.

The investigation was part of the national Childhood Determinants of Adult Health (CDAH) study. Over 2,000 participants were involved with the breakfast skipping study. “We used data from a large nation-wide study with a 20 year follow-up from childhood to early adulthood," Kylie said. “Compared to those who ate breakfast both as a child and an adult, those who skipped breakfast on both occasions had a larger waist circumference, and had higher fasting insulin, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol), which are all risk factors for heart disease and diabetes."

Healthy Weight, Heart Foundation national director Susan Anderson added: “We’ve always known that eating breakfast helps with concentration, weight control and good nutrition, but this study provides further evidence that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If parents wanted to do just one thing to help ensure the good health of their children now and into the future, it could be to make sure that no-one leaves the house in the mornings without breakfast."