Breakfast is an important meal that contains unique foods not eaten at other times. In particular whole grain cereals are most commonly eaten during breakfast. Whole grain cereals are of interest nutritionally because they have been shown to have a beneficial effect on blood sugar and insulin control. This in turn may lessen the risk of developing diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Research has shown that skipping breakfast is associated with unhealthy lifestyles which may lead to disease through multiple mechanisms. Those who frequently miss breakfast have lower intakes of vitamins, minerals, fibre and greater intakes of energy. Because skipping breakfast is associated with increased energy consumption during the day, it is no surprise that research has shown associations between skipping breakfast and weight gain. Individuals that skip breakfast have higher intakes of fat that may overcompensate for the reduced carbohydrate intake earlier in the day.
Researchers1 have investigated the effects of skipping breakfast on important markers of metabolic dysfunction that increase risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In 1985 researcher recorded the frequency of skipping breakfast in a study of 9 to 15 year old Australian school children. In a follow up of 2184 of these subjects at age 26 to 36 years, subjects again had their breakfast habits recorded and were then classified into 4 groups: skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood; skipped breakfast in only childhood; skipped breakfast in only adulthood and skipped breakfast in neither adulthood or childhood. The subjects also had their blood lipids measured and their waist circumference measured. Skipping breakfast in childhood was associated with body mass index and experimental smoking. In adulthood, skipping breakfast was associated with being single, a lower level of education, smoking, television watching and being inactive.
The researchers adjusted the results to take account of the different sex, age, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors that may have biased the results. After this adjustment the results showed that those subjects who skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood had a larger waist circumference (4.63 cm) and higher fasting insulin (2.02 mU/L), total cholesterol (0.40 mmol/L) and LDL cholesterol (0.40 mmol/L) than those who ate breakfast in both adulthood and childhood. Adjustment for diet quality attenuated the results suggesting that it might be the case that the foods skipped at breakfast were foods that were protective of weight gain and cardiovascular disease, such as whole grain cereals and fruit. Those who skipped breakfast in both adulthood and childhood had the least healthy diets, falling below the recommended intakes for fruit and dairy and eating less lean meats but more takeout foods.
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