How skipping breakfast sets you up for bad food choices all day, and the impact that can have on the health of your arteries
Low energy, bad moods, low blood sugar, overeating – these consequences of skipping breakfast are well known. Now comes a new study suggesting the habit also contributes to blocked arteries
Is skipping breakfast associated with cardiovascular problems?
The short answer: Yes
We’ve all heard of the benefits of tucking into a healthy breakfast every morning. Besides giving us an energy boost so that we can take on the challenges of the day, the morning meal is said to help jump-start our metabolism, prevent us from overeating, and improve our concentration and performance at work or in school.
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We also know the downside of forgoing the first meal of the day: it increases our risk of hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar, makes us more susceptible to weight gain, affects our thinking, and has a negative impact on our mood and energy levels. But a new study (“The Importance of Breakfast in Atherosclerosis Disease”), published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, has found that skipping breakfast is also associated with another detrimental effect on the body – that of atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up inside the arteries.
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The research team examined volunteers who skipped breakfast; who consumed only a light or low-energy breakfast; and who consumed a high-energy breakfast. Of the three groups, the first was found to have more than double the risk of atherosclerosis compared to the third group. This group also had the greatest waist circumference and body mass index, and the highest blood pressure, blood lipid and fasting glucose levels. Atherosclerosis was also seen more frequently in the second group.
There was something else about the breakfast skippers that made them stand out from those who consumed breakfast: they were more likely to have unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits in general – they had a poor diet, smoked, and drank alcohol frequently. The study also found that they had more atherosclerotic lesions and atherosclerotic plaques.
The results do not surprise Philip Watkins, a naturopath at the Integrated Medicine Institute, a medical clinic in Hong Kong’s Central business district. He says that skipping breakfast is something he sees quite often in his practice, and warns that this bad habit can set us up for a day of unhealthy dietary choices.