What is breakfast?

As breakfast, we define the meal eaten in the morning, the first meal of the day, that “breaks” the overnight fast, the majority consider breakfast as the healthiest meal of the day. Its consumption is recommended by large organizations (1,2,3) while others categorically discourage its omission (4), since it has been suggested as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (5) and diabetes (6).

Breakfast consumption is associated with increased satiety (7), increased physical activity (8,9), and hence, reduced body weight (10). So yes, it is related to a healthier lifestyle, and to a healthier body mass index, but this a correlation not a causation.

Hence, most of the benefits that are associated with breakfast consumption are derived from observational studies (11).

Observational studies are investigations that researchers do not intervene to the sample of the study. In this type of study, researchers observes the effect of a risk factor, treatment or other intervention on the sample, without change trying to change something, they just “take notes”. Hence, this type of research is not considered as the best scientific evidence, since the data can very easily be influenced by other factors that are not examined or controlled.

That is why there are intervention studies. These type of research is tailored to directly measure the impact of an intervention, while other confounding factors are controlled as strictly as possible.

“What do intervention studies show according to breakfast?”

Not what you think.

It has been shown that skipping breakfast is associated with significantly lower body weight compare to breakfast consumption (12). Interestingly, it has also been proven that introducing someone to eat breakfast (while he usually didn’t), may increase the dietary caloric content by approximately 260 calories (12). Thus, introducing breakfast consumption in individuals who usually omit breakfast, did not lead them to a lower energy/food consumption during the day.

This, of course, goes against the current guidelines and the reason is probably this: As already stated, the relationship between breakfast and weight management is mainly based on observational and not intervention studies.

And there is the drawback: Some factors that were not controlled in the observational studies, may have significantly contributed to this relationship between breakfast and weight.

For example, isn’t it more usual for people that take breakfast, to exercise, drink less alcohol, or even not smoke as much? Indeed, it is showed that 78% of people who lose and maintain their weight, eat breakfast daily, while 90% of them eat breakfast at least 4 times a week (9). Nevertheless, there are no differences in the weight loss rate between those who consume breakfast or not.

So, breakfast by itself may not be the main factor contributing for individuals’ weight. As it have already mentioned, weight is regulated by the calories we consume and not by the habit of consuming or not breakfast.

Moreover, to debunk another myth:

many urge you to eat breakfast in order to increase your metabolism, while the scientific data do not support this theory, neither in normal weight (13) nor in overweight people (14).

“But what if we urge someone to start eating breakfast anyway?”

Asking people who usually omit, to eat breakfast, led them to consume more calories per day and eventually, gain weight (12).

“What if we do not eat breakfast? Is this the end of the world?”

Apparently, appetite will be regulated accordingly, so there is no question of appetite regulation (12). Moreover, in those who do not usually eat breakfast, not only appetite but also insulin sensitivity and blood lipids remain stable by not eating breakfast- in contrast to those who skip breakfast while they usually eat-.

So if you eat breakfast go on, if not, there may not be any crucial reason to push you getting started.

Eating breakfast is often considered as the most essential element of a diet that is crucial for weight loss. Although this does not seem exactly true, the shaping of a healthy body composition lies upon on the amount of the calories we consume and the amount we burn.

I certainly do not urge those who eat breakfast to stop consume it nor I urge those who do not eat breakfast to not even try it. Just focus on what suits you best and how easily you can adapt on healthy eating habits in the long run -without insisting that the weight is not managed differently-.