Is skipping breakfast good or bad?

Breakfast… the most important meal of the day? Or should you skip it altogether? My opinion is that there could be a role for mixing and matching both approaches.

For years, health messaging has emphasized breakfast as the most important meal of the day, in order to ‘kickstart your metabolism’. This advice has been supported by studies suggesting that those who skip breakfast have an increased chance of premature death. However, what these studies don’t take into account is that health conscious people are more likely to follow public health advice and therefore also engage in other positive healthy behaviors which could independently influence their chances of developing an illness.  There is also very little evidence that eating breakfast, actually helps with weight control, as is popular belief.

Conversely, we also know that time restricted eating (eating within a certain time interval during the day) has a number of health benefits.  For example eating within a 12 hour window (for example, starting at 7am and finishing at 7pm) maybe beneficial for those with type 2 diabetes and obesity and have a positive effect on gut health which is known to influence the immune system. Occasionally skipping breakfast extends overnight fasting further, which in studies has been shown to assist with weight loss.

In clinical practice I find a personalized approach works best. Some people wake up and are not hungry at all, so I encourage them to skip breakfast. Others find not eating breakfast increases their cravings for sugar later on so are better suited to eat their first meal early and have a lighter dinner. Many patients like to delay their first meal until 9am and then skip breakfast once or twice a week as a variation.

In saying this, more important than timing is the quality of the first meal. This means avoiding all breakfast cereals as they are highly processed, low in protein and contain large volumes of sugar. Studies have shown that protein earlier in the day, so including foods like eggs, nuts, or chia seeds on porridge are good ways to do this.

To summarize, breakfast is not necessarily the most important meal for all and many find they benefit from delaying their first meal. However this approach is not a one size fits all and it is important to listen to your hunger signals to determine the best strategy for you.