Skipping breakfast in middle age can make you fatter and more unhealthy, a study has found. Having a well-balanced and substantial morning meal was found to help manage daily calorie intake and lower cholesterol, BMI and waist size.
About 380 overweight Spaniards with “metabolic syndrome” were studied for three years, with data collected on their health, weight, and breakfast habits. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart-related conditions, such as a stroke or a heart attack. Signs of metabolic syndrome are obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure and too many fats in the blood. About one in four adult Britons are thought to have metabolic syndrome.
The Spanish study found that a substantial breakfast, accounting for 20 to 30 per cent of total daily calories, was better for health than a tiny breakfast, a huge meal or skipping it entirely.
NHS guidelines recommend 2,000 calories a day for women and 2,500 for men. A breakfast that accounts for a quarter of this, as recommended by the study, should be about 500 calories for women and 625 for men.
People in the study who had a breakfast of this scale every morning had a lower BMI than those who skipped breakfast – and their waists were an inch smaller. People who had large breakfasts (more than 30 per cent of their recommended daily calories) were even more unhealthy and larger than those who skipped it entirely.
The study adds credence to the old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The data show it lowered cholesterol as well as improving the amount of fat in the blood.
Karla-Alejandra Pérez-Vega, the study author, from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute in Barcelona, stated, “However, it is undoubtedly an important meal, as it serves the critical role of breaking the extended fasting period from sleep.”
In our study, individuals who skipped breakfast were included in the group that consumed less energy than the recommended 20-30 per cent of daily intake. These individuals showed higher weight values over time compared to those who consumed a moderate and high-quality breakfast. Regularly consuming a healthy breakfast can support weight control.
Additionally, the quality of the breakfast was important; a “full English” does not meet this criteria as it may exceed the energy and saturated fat levels that are appropriate. Breakfast items should be unprocessed when possible, and should include many different food groups such as cereals, protein, a healthy fat source, and fruits and vegetables.
A low-quality breakfast was associated with waists that were 1.50 cm (0.59 inches) bigger than those of people who had a high-quality breakfast – and it also led to more fat in the blood and higher bad cholesterol levels. The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging.
Source: The Telegraph
