The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    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

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