Skipping breakfast: What happens to the body when you miss your morning meal?

By regularly skipping morning meals you are more susceptible to weight gain and at an increased risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol (10, 6, 11, 12).

By: Satata Karmakar | | Updated: November 14, 2020 5:03 pm

Skipping breakfast? Stop! Here's how it affects your body.

Are you someone who skips breakfast just to lose weight or for not having enough time at hand? Do you know skipping the morning meal can throw off your body’s rhythm of fasting and eating? When you wake up, the blood sugar your body needs to make your muscles and brain work their best is usually low. Breakfast helps replenish it. Also Read - Breakfast foods to avoid if you’re on weight loss journey

If your body doesn’t get that fuel from food, you may feel zapped of energy — and you’ll be more likely to overeat later in the day. Also Read - Intermittent fasting helps you lose weight fast: But you must make the right food choices

Breakfast is also important for you as it gives you a chance to get in some essential vitamins and nutrients from healthy foods like dairy, grains, and fruits. If you don’t eat it, you aren’t likely to get all of the nutrients your body needs. Well, there’s much more. Here’s a breakdown of everything that may happen when you skip breakfast. Also Read - Oatmeal Rawa Dosa: The yummy South Indian recipe that will fuel your weight-loss goals

Bad For Your Heart

Not having your breakfast can be harmful to your heart. According to a study published in JAMA, men who skip breakfast have about 27% more chances of sustaining a heart attack when compared to those who eat breakfast. Dr. Leah Cahill, who led the research, tells that the rate of risk is not so worrisome. But she also supports the fact that indulging in a healthy breakfast could actually curb the risk of heart attacks.

You Put Yourself at Risk for Diabetes

When you skip your morning supper, you actually step a little ahead to become more prone to several health complications one of these is diabetes. Yes, you read it right! According to the studies, breakfast skippers have been found to have a “higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, higher risk of obesity due to insulin resistance and hormone regulation, as well as increased risk for heart attacks and hypertension.”

Risk Of Cancer

Skipping breakfast can make you overindulge in food during the day time. This in turn paves the way for an increased prevalence of obesity. According to research that was conducted by Cancer Research UK, it was found out that a person who is overweight or obese has an increased risk of developing cancer.

Could Affect Your Metabolism

Will your car ever start if there is no fuel? No, right? Similarly, you need breakfast to give your metabolism a jump start. It is the first meal of the day you are feeding your body with, after its rest for about 12 hours. According to various studies conducted on the importance of breakfast, people who eat breakfast have a higher level of resting metabolism.

Causes Indigestion Problems

One of the key causes of acidity, gastric reflux, stomach pain, belching or flatulence is skipping meals. When you are on an empty stomach for a long time, there is an increased secretion of gastric acid in the stomach. So every time you skip a meal, your stomach produces acids that attack the stomach lining leading to acidity, ulcers, and abdominal pain.

Also, apart from all the above pointers, you all have at some point in time must have thought that skipping meals can help you lose weight. Let’s check the truth…

Can Skipping Breakfast Help You Lose Weight?

Over the years, researchers have found that, on average, people who eat breakfast are thinner than those who don’t. That could be because eating foods with protein and fiber in the morning keeps your appetite in check for the rest of the day. The study compared weight loss among people who ate breakfast with those who didn’t. The meal didn’t make any difference. But studies show that most people who lose weight and keep the weight off ate breakfast every day.

So, another negative effect of skipping breakfast is:

Skipping Breakfast Might Cause Weight Gain

If you are on a weight loss regimen and have the habit of skipping breakfast, give it a second thought now. According to the studies conducted on the negative impacts of not eating breakfast, people who miss the morning meal had higher chances of gaining weight, quite contrary to your slimming goal. Are you confused? Just read on.

Skipping breakfast elevates your craving for sugary and fatty foods. Plus, since your hunger pangs will quite be intense, you end up eating whatever you come across during the day. The higher your hunger levels are, the more the quantity of food intake will be. And, this at times exceeds your recommended daily calorie intake. Constant practice of skipping breakfast will finally lead to weight gain and not weight loss.

So, do not skip your breakfast…instead, eat healthy, eat right, and live a happy and disease-free life.

Published : November 14, 2020 5:00 pm | Updated:November 14, 2020 5:03 pm

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