The 10 Most Important Reasons to Eat Breakfast

Hello, dear blog readers and loyal Peak customers! We’ve just entered the new year, and some of you have made plenty of resolutions. We’d like to suggest another good one for you: Eat breakfast every day! Yes, it sounds trivial, but it’s not. And the best part is, it’s easy to do. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day—as Charles Poliquin knows, and he’s the one who came up with the following 10 reasons.

The 10 Most Important Reasons to Eat Breakfast

1. You’ll be
slimmer. There is clear evidence that people who skip breakfast have a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) and are more likely to be obese. When researchers analyze dietary composition using food diaries, they find that people who eat breakfast have a better overall diet and a more favorable macronutrient profile. In addition, “breakfast eaters” consume fewer calories throughout the day than those who skip it. Breakfast skippers not only are highly likely to have more body fat than those who eat breakfast, but are also highly likely to gain even more weight due to a tendency to overeat later in the day as well as reduced insulin sensitivity.
When it comes to a diet for optimal body composition, read the “Meat and Nuts for Breakfast” article.

2. You’ll lower your risk of developing diabetes or becoming
insulin-resistant. Skipping breakfast and other meals causes the body’s cells to become less sensitive to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that transports sugar in the blood, from where it can be used as energy by cells or converted into fat stores. When you skip meals and the cell receptors consequently become less sensitive or resistant to insulin, this leads to excess sugar circulating in the bloodstream. The body then tries to produce more insulin to get the sugar into the insulin-resistant cells. This leads to a problematic, cyclical pattern resulting in weight gain, impaired insulin sensitivity, and ultimately diabetes. The rate of overweight individuals and people with diabetes is 50% lower among those who eat breakfast compared to those who skip it.

3. You’ll eat
a greater and better variety of foods. People who eat breakfast tend to make better overall food choices throughout the day. Skipping breakfast encourages overeating and snacking later on, which often takes the form of unhealthy, high-calorie foods. In terms of their overall diet, breakfast eaters consume more vegetables and dairy, and fewer soft drinks and junk foods like French fries.

4. You’ll consume
more protein, vitamins, and minerals. People who eat breakfast are more likely to get enough micronutrients—such as calcium, zinc, iron, and vitamins—through their diet.
They also tend to have a more favorable protein ratio than those who skip breakfast, although the percentage of calories generally consumed from protein (10–12 percent of total calories) is still lower than optimal, especially for an athlete or someone interested in staying lean and looking good.

Breakfast eaters also consume a higher amount of fiber in their diet, a key factor when it comes to health and ideal body composition. Fiber and protein are believed to be the actual reason why “breakfast eaters” have better body composition. Read *The Protein Goal Diet* for some insights on protein composition for body fat loss.

5. You’ll Be
Smarter Research shows that eating breakfast improves performance on free recall and recognition tests. It will also help you maintain your memory for several hours after eating by regulating both short- and long-term metabolic responses.

You’ll also do better in school. Skipping breakfast has been linked to poorer performance on tests such as the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test). Plus: among students of all ages, “breakfast eaters” get better grades and have higher cognitive performance.

A study on the effect of different types of breakfast on cognitive performance compared a sugar-laden packaged cereal with a more nutritious oatmeal breakfast and concluded that participants who ate the oatmeal breakfast had better test results in terms of mental reasoning. In reality, however, breakfast should consist of more than just oatmeal and should also contain a good amount of fat and protein.

6. Your likelihood of smoking, drinking, or dying decreases
It’s true! According to research, if you eat breakfast, you’re less likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking, or not exercising.

Even better: Studies confirm a positive correlation between eating breakfast and mortality rates for a variety of reasons. Eating breakfast has been linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular-related death, such as from coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (mainly because it reduces your likelihood of being overweight).

7. You’ll Be Healthier and Have
More Friends Eating breakfast is associated with improved social behavior, lower rates of depression, and fewer cases of attention-deficit disorders.

Women who skip breakfast are more likely to experience fertility problems as well as menstrual irregularities such as dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea is a risk factor for psychological problems and gynecological diseases, which further underscores the importance of eating breakfast and the associated quality of life for women.

8. You are less likely to develop
an eating disorder. Even though skipping breakfast is quite common, it is still an unhealthy eating pattern because the body needs fuel after a night’s rest and fasting. The term “breakfast”
literally means “to break the fast” and is necessary to kick-start the metabolism, refuel the brain, and prepare the body for the physical challenges of everyday life.

Research shows that people who skip breakfast are more likely to develop an eating disorder. In some cases, skipping breakfast becomes a habit with the goal of using it as a weight-control strategy. A 13-year Australian study found that women who skipped breakfast were more likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies than men and, furthermore, had poorer nutritional profiles and overall health.

9. Your children will also be
healthier, slimmer, and smarter. Children whose parents eat breakfast are significantly more likely to eat breakfast as well. The fact that parents ate breakfast also improved the overall nutritional quality of their children’s meals, including the right amounts of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. These children were also less likely to be overweight and had lower BMIs than children whose parents skipped breakfast.

Also note that frequent family meals increased the likelihood that children would make healthy food choices and have a better body composition. Children whose parents skip breakfast have a lower level of education by age 16, receive poorer grades in school, and achieve a lower overall level of education. They also tend to have more behavioral problems and a lower quality of life.

10. You’ll be
happier. People who eat breakfast have lower rates of depression and a higher overall quality of life. Research shows that eating breakfast boosts mood and reduces mood swings throughout the day.

And it makes perfect sense! If you’re slimmer, smarter, healthier, less hungry, and more satisfied, why wouldn’t you be a happier person?

So take the time in the morning to eat a proper breakfast!

With athletic regards

Your Peak Team

References:

?Song, W., Chun, O., Obayashi, S., Cho, S., Chung, C. “Is Consumption of Breakfast Associated with Body Mass Index in U.S. Adults?” Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2005. 105(9), 1373–1382.?