Your mornings may seem too busy to make time for diet wellness, but your overall wellbeing may suffer as a result. This is according to a new study, published in the journal Circulation, which has found that men who skip breakfast have a 27% higher risk of suffering a heart attack or developing heart disease than those who start the day with something in their stomach.
The Harvard researchers noted that the study confirms earlier findings that have linked eating habits to elevated risk factors for heart disease. According to Eric Rimm, senior author and associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health and associate professor of medicine at the HarvardMedicalSchool, ‘Men who skip breakfast are more likely to gain weight, to develop diabetes, to have hypertension and to have high cholesterol.’ Wellness expert Dennis Thompson details, ‘Breakfast skippers are 15% more likely to gain a substantial amount of weight and 21% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, earlier studies have reported. The new study found that these men also indulged more heavily in other unhealthy lifestyle choices. They were more likely to smoke, engage in less exercise and drink alcohol.’
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, comments, ‘We’ve focused so much on the quality of food and what kind of diet everyone should be eating, and we don’t talk as often on the manner of eating. This study is not even discussing the type of food. It’s just talking about behaviour and lifestyle choice. Part of heart-healthy living is eating breakfast because that prevents you from doing a lot of other unhealthy things.’ Thompson explains, ‘For the new report, researchers analyased data culled from a 16-year study of nearly 27,000 male health professionals that tracked their eating habits and overall health from 1992 to 2008. During the study period, 1,572 of the men developed heart disease.’
Thompson points out, ‘The study also found a 55% increased risk of heart disease in men who regularly indulge in late-night snacking. However, the researchers did not consider this a public health risk because few men reported eating after they’d gone to bed…There are several possible explanations why skipping breakfast can have such a drastic effect on heart health. The Harvard study found that men who skip breakfast do not pick up another meal later in the day, which indicates that they tend to “feast” on higher-calorie meals when they do eat. Previous studies have found that feasting can result in high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure, compared with nibbling smaller meals.’
But why? ‘It’s the extra strain on the body of eating more calories during the few times in a day they do eat,’ Rimm clarifies, adding, ‘Breakfast is typically a time when people tend to eat a healthy meal. By skipping a meal that usually features fibre or fruit or yogurt, you’re missing out on an occasion where people can get healthy nutrients.’ The investigators found that younger men were more likely to skip breakfast than older individuals. As younger men are more likely to be stressed, they are more at risk for heart wellness issues and negative behaviours such as drinking or smoking. Rimm confirmed that skipping breakfast ‘may be in line with the fact that these are men who are rushing out to stressful jobs and not eating along the way.’
While the study did not look at women’s breakfast skipping habits, Steinbaum believes the same pattern likely occurs in women who skip breakfast. She says, ‘There haven’t been any studies independently on women, but I would suspect we would find the same outcomes.’ Rimm adds, ‘There is so much we know about reducing risk of heart disease, and some things like exercise or quitting smoking take quite a bit of effort. But it is easy without a big huge financial or time commitment to have breakfast, even if it is a bowl of oatmeal or a bit of cereal before you start the day.’
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