Eat breakfast!
Researchers at the Royal Children’s Hospital, in Victoria, Australia looked for an association between skipping breakfast and cardiometabolic risk factors in adulthood.
They’ve come across a finding that’s particularly interesting.
Cardiometabolic risk is defined as the overall risk of developing type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke) due to a cluster of modifiable risk factors.
Now, the details.
- In 1985, a national sample of Australian children reported whether they usually ate breakfast before school.
- During follow-up (2004 to 2006), 2184 participants(now adults) completed a meal-frequency chart for the previous day.
- Skipping breakfast was defined as not eating between 6 and 9 AM.
- Participants were classified into 4 groups.
- Never skipped breakfast in childhood nor adulthood
- Skipped breakfast only in childhood
- Skipped breakfast only in adulthood
- Skipped breakfast in childhood and adulthood
- Diet quality was assessed, waist circumference was measured, and blood samples were taken after a 12-hour fast.
- Differences in average waist circumference and blood sugar levels, insulin, and lipid levels were calculated.
- Adjustments were made for age, gender, and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.
And, the results.
- Skipping breakfast during childhood and adulthood was associated with a larger waist circumference(average difference: 4.63 cm [1.82 inches).
- They also had higher fasting insulin levels, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol levels than did those who ate breakfast during childhood and adulthood.
- Additional adjustments for diet quality and waist circumference attenuated the associations with cardiometabolic variables, but the differences remained significant.
The bottom line?
The authors concluded, “Skipping breakfast over a long period may have detrimental effects on cardio metabolic health. Promoting the benefits of eating breakfast could be a simple and important public health message.”
Let’s not kid ourselves.
The most fascinating result from 2 years of studying more than 2000 people is that eating breakfast (any breakfast!) is associated with a 2-inch smaller waistline! Actually, the range was 1.7 to 7.5 cm (up to 3 inches).
That’s huge.
Recommendations that should optimize the positive response to eating breakfast are summarized here.
10/23/10 19:53 JR