Skipping breakfast linked to obesity, diabetes

Doctors have warned that people who skip morning meals are at risk of obesity, diabetes or high blood sugar.

Doctors at American heart association said people who take breakfast regularly are less likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease like high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure because they eat more calories earlier in the day.

The doctors warned that what we eat not only matters but the time we eat is important. Meal timing is said to have an effect on the body’s internal clock.

Marie-Pierre St-Onge, chair of the group that wrote the guidelines, said, “when we eat may be important to consider, in addition to what we eat”.

The nutrition researcher at Columbia University medical centre in New York, US, said the body may not process sugars as expected at night as it does during the day.

“We know from population studies that eating breakfast is related to lower weight and healthier diet, along with lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

“However, interventions to increase breakfast consumption in those who typically skip breakfast do not support a strong causal role of this meal for weight management. In particular, adding breakfast, for some, leads to an additional meal and weight gain,” the doctor said.

According to the guidelines given by the group of doctors, a healthy diet contains lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, poultry, and fish.

A good diet should be low in red meat, salt, and foods high in added sugars.