08 Nov 2013

Another good reason not to skip breakfast

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My grandmother always used to tell me ‘Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.’ A recent study has suggested that the advice Nanna gave might have been right – and it might be good for your heart.

Heart and circulation

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Skipping meals has been seen in several studies to be linked to a number of different health problems – including weight gain, elevated blood lipid levels, as well as impairing the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels.

And now a recent study performed in America has shown that skipping breakfast may also be bad for the health of your heart.

This recent study was published in Circulation, and was conducted on a group of male health care professionals (dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists, optometrists, osteopaths and podiatrists) as part of an ongoing study at Harvard University’s School of Public Health called the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) – which has been running since 1986.

This particular part of the study reviewed the eating habits of over 26,000 male health professionals and looked at their risk of developing coronary heart disease.

The researchers found that the men who skipped breakfast were 27% more likely to develop heart disease, than the men who did eat breakfast. It had previously been found in the HPFS that men who didn’t eat breakfast were 15% more likely to gain a substantial amount of weight, and were 21% more likely to develop blood sugar regulation problems.

The study also found that men who ate late at night had an increased risk of developing heart disease. The men that ate late at night (late night eating was defined as ‘eating after going to bed’) had a 55% higher risk of developing heart disease than those who didn’t.

There are currently two possible theories as to why skipping breakfast and eating late at night could contribute to a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease.

The first is that the timing of the meals may have a direct metabolic effect that may lead to an increased risk of heart disease.

The second possibility is that there is a link between specific foods more likely to be consumed at breakfast or late at night and heart health. Foods typically eaten at breakfast are cereals that are high in fibre, and often fortified with vitamins. Late night snacks tend to be high in sugar, and fat.

So maybe it is time to start listening to the advice Nanna gave. Make sure that you’re making time for a good breakfast each morning, and avoid those late night snacks to help keep your heart happy.

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