Study Finds Eating Breakfast Is Important

Skipping breakfast has become common for adults in recent years. A study has found that those who do skip breakfast may experience weight gain and heart disease later in life.

In a published report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined 10 healthy women over the course of two weeks and found that those who didn't eat breakfast developed higher levels of the bad LDL cholesterol and were less sensitive to insulin than those women who ate breakfast.

The women in the study ate a breakfast consisting of a bowl of Bran Flakes with 2% milk and a late morning Kit Kat bar snack for two weeks. Once that period was over, the cereal was then eaten at lunch time for another two weeks as the women skipped eating in the morning completely.

The study found that when the women ate breakfast, they consumed roughly 100 fewer calories per day and had a better insulin response to eating, which suggested that their risk of diabetes was lower.

Researchers also found that total and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the women who ate breakfast. Total cholesterol was 121 mg/dL in the breakfast group compared with 133 in the other group. LDL was 60 in the breakfast group and 70 in the nonbreakfast group.

The women's body weight didn't change significantly between the two groups during these two-week periods, but researchers say the results offer a potential mechanism by which skipping breakfast could lead to weight gain in the longer term.

In addition, the results show that the negative effects of skipping breakfast on cholesterol and insulin levels may also increase the women's risk of heart disease over time.