The Weight of Skipping Breakfast

How many times have you heard someone tell you that skipping breakfast in the morning will only cause you to gain weight, not lose it? In the opposite sense, how many times have you heard that not eating breakfast won’t cause you to gain weight and that anyone who claims that it does is crazy? With so many theories going around, how do you know what’s true and what’s not?

Multiple studies have been published claiming that skipping breakfast is associated with weight gain. For example, in 2003 the American Journal of Epidemiology published a study that involved 500 participants, and that showed that, out of those 500 individuals, the ones who did not eat breakfast regularly were found to have an increased risk of becoming obese. However, this study doesn’t necessarily mean that the individuals in the study gained weight because they didn’t eat breakfast; correlation, not causation people.

In another sense though, there have been multiple studies performed that show that skipping breakfast does not cause weight gain. In 2014, a study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed 300 people as they were split up between three groups: group one, which was instructed to follow a regular-type diet, group two which was instructed to follow a diet intended to lose weight, and was not allowed to eat breakfast, and group three, which was instructed to follow a diet to lose weight, but was allowed to eat breakfast. The study showed that, between groups two and three, there was no contrast in the amount of weight lost in regards to eating breakfast or not.

Ultimately, there are so many theories and studies out there that it is hard to pick up on a general consensus, and as we learned about in class, science is all about curiosity and attempting to find the answers, or help to develop answers from other scientific works. So who knows if we will ever know the real truth about whether or not eating breakfast is correlated with weight gain. All I can say for sure, is that it is your choice whether or not you choose to eat breakfast, but do keep in mind that, if you do decide to eat breakfast, there are some very healthy choices out there that will not only give you brain power, but fill you up with enough energy to keep you going all day.

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Sources: Hammond, C. (n.d.). Does skipping breakfast make you put on weight? Retrieved September 15, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130304-skip-breakfast-pile-on-weight

Tremblay, S. (2016). Can Skipping Breakfast Cause You to Gain Weight? Retrieved September 15, 2016, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/431003-can-skipping-breakfast-cause-you-to-gain-weight/

Picture: To Breakfast or not to Breakfast? (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2016, from http://www.planethealthcork.ie/newsdetail.php?id=62

4 thoughts on “The Weight of Skipping Breakfast

  1. Lauren Messing

    I am a culprit of never eating breakfast. I am not even like breakfast food. Cereal, pancakes, french toast- none of it thrills me. Perhaps if I loved waffles, I would have a greater incentive to eat it. The other contributing factor to my anti-breakfast behavior is my love for sleep. I leave myself just enough time in the morning to get dressed, brush my teeth, and make it to class on time. I happen to be very interested in exercise and weight loss, so I always wondered if not eating breakfast was hindering my progress. Your blog stated that eating breakfast energizes you to go about your day, and I am always exhausted. Skipping breakfast could be a contributing factor to my constant tiredness. Since there is no distinct assertion that breakfast causes weight gain, I am going to continue to skip it. Any who, hereis an article that lists some healthy and energizing breakfast foods to wake you up in the morning!

  2. Olivia Helen Dearment

    I can relate to this post because I never have time to eat breakfast nor am I hungry that early anyway. My mom always told me I needed to eat breakfast and my friends always say you can actually gained weight from skipping it. I never believed it because how would that make sense? This topic has always been a controversial one. However I have also heard that when you eat breakfast, it actually makes you hungrier during the day, typically causing weight gain down the line.

  3. Celine Degachi

    I always assumed there was a correlation between weight gain and eating or not eating breakfast. I was particularly interested in this post since I almost always skip breakfast. Then I realized that not eating breakfast but drinking coffee every morning could have a negative effect on my body and I was curious as to what. That’s how I came across this article in which it highlights that not eating breakfast and drinking coffee could unbalance your insulin levels thus causing your body to crave more sugar. In turn, you end up eating more fatty foods during the afternoon.

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