Skipping Breakfast Linked to Higher Risk of Heart Disease
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all
important meals to keep our bodies nourished and energized throughout
the day but one meal has long been enjoying a reputation as ‘the most
important meal of the day.' Yes, we’re talking about breakfast. Ever
since childhood, we are warned not to skip breakfast, and this notion is
rooted in truth. Repeatedly skipping breakfast has been found to slow
down metabolism, increase cortisol levels, and cause difficulty in
concentration.
A recent meta-analysis - a statistical
analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies -
published in the Journal Clinical Nutrition further solidified the
importance of breakfast, when it revealed a clear correlation between
skipping breakfast and heart disease. After analyzing more than 221,730
participants, the researchers found that passing on breakfast elevated
the risk of cardiovascular disease by 22 percent.
These results confirm the findings of a
similar meta-analysis conducted in 2019. The previous study, which was
published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease
analyzed the data of four different studies from the US and Japan and
found that those who regularly skipped breakfast were 21 percent more
likely to experience cardiovascular disease than participants who
regularly ate breakfast.
Moreover, people who skip breakfast were also shown to be more likely to
die from heart-related issues and a heart attack in particular. Another
study from the same year looked at the eating habits of 113 heart
attack patients and found that those who tended to skip breakfast and
eat dinner near bedtime were four to five times more likely to die,
suffer another heart attack, or experience angina within 30 days after
being discharged from the hospital.
Why does breakfast have such a drastic
effect on our heart health?
The word breakfast literally means breaking the fasting period of the
prior night. When we don’t eat breakfast, we prolong that period, and
later when we do eat we tend to “feast” on heavier, higher-calorie meals
to ‘make up' for it. It’s been proven that eating large portions of
food in long intervals can result in high cholesterol and elevated blood
pressure and blood sugar, compared with nibbling smaller meals more
often. Unfortunately, all three of these complications are risk factors
for heart disease. They are caused by the extra strain on the body
during the few times a person does eat, according to Eric Rimm,
associate professor of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health.
The type of food that a person consumes during breakfast might also be a
factor. Typically, the morning is when most people tend to eat a
healthy meal. "By skipping a meal that usually features fiber or fruit
or yogurt, you're missing out on an occasion where people can get
healthy nutrients," said Rimm.
Given the heart health risk, and the other
health benefits breakfast offers, it’s clear that it is an essential
meal, and most people are aware of that. A survey conducted in 2009
found that 93 percent of Americans agree that breakfast is the most
important meal of the day. However, there is an apparent gap between
people’s beliefs and their actions. A 2019 survey found that the average
American eats breakfast only three times a week, while 13 percent of
the participants said they rarely, if ever, eat breakfast.
Given all this information, we urge you to make eating breakfast a
habit, if it isn’t already one.