Breakfast has been called "the most important meal of the day" for as long as everyone can remember. Children who skip breakfast have a higher risk of diabetes, while those who do have been known to do better in school. However, even when eating breakfast gives you all these benefits, a doctor said you'll be okay without eating it.
According to medicaldaily.com, Dr. Aaron Carroll who is the creator of the YouTube channel, Healthcare Triage, admitted that he hasn't eaten breakfast in such a long time. He explained that he just doesn't feel hungry at 7 in the morning. He also insists that those who do not like to eat breakfast should not be forced to do so especially if it will lead to gaining weight. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found no evidence that skipping breakfast can affect the weight of a person.
A study led by Emily Dhurandhar, assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior at University of Alabama at Birmingham was made to prove this theory. The study revealed that people who eat breakfast did not lose more weight than those who skip it, Forbes reported.
Dhurandhar explained that previous studies mainly showed correlation but not causation. "In contrast, we used a large, randomized controlled trial to examine whether or not breakfast recommendations have a causative effect on weight loss, with weight change as our primary outcome," she added. Dhurandhar and her team of researchers made 300 overweight and obese volunteers follow a diet that asks them to either eat or skip breakfast.
After 16 weeks, the results revealed that the two groups, the breakfast eaters and the non-breakfast eaters, lost the same amount of weight. The researchers believe that the result it enough to change doctors and nutritionists mind when they give recommendations to their patients, especially to those who are trying to lose weight.
"Now that we know the general recommendation of 'eat breakfast every day' has no differential impact on weight loss, we can move forward with studying other techniques for improved effectiveness," says Dhurandhar. "We should try to understand why eating or skipping breakfast did not influence weight loss, despite evidence that breakfast may influence appetite and metabolism."
