An observational study was recently conducted of men between the ages of 45 and 82-years-old who don’t eat breakfast on a regular basis. It showed that the men who missed breakfast increased their risk of having a heart attack or coronary artery disease by 27%. Researchers for the study believe that the results shown could be applicable to a wider range of the population and not the older men that were observed for the this study.

The study assessed 27,000 male respondents and their daily eating habits in 1992. Results showed that 13% of the men missed breakfast. Those that missed breakfast had professional careers and were 45 years of age. In a 16 year period 1,527 suffered from either a fatal or nonfatal heart attack. If variables such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and high blood pressure were taken into account, there was a 27% added risk for not eating breakfast.

The study also showed that missing breakfast was done so more by younger men. Extra variables that were linked to the men not eating breakfast were smoking, alcohol consumption, marital status and full time career.

Why does skipping breakfast lead to an increased risk for having a heart attack?

According to researchers, those that do not eat breakfast are more prone to eating larger meals later in the day that are filled with more calories. Theses people also consume more meals later in the evening.

Late night eating is linked to developing coronary artery disease, in fact those men who ate meals later in the night had a 55% increased risk. This results in there being less time to process the food, which leads to higher blood sugar levels and “more intense and frequent insulin spikes”. And this is a precursor for coronary heart disease.

A downfall of the study was that respondents were not asked what they ate for breakfast. The real question would be if eating breakfast that is high in calories is better than not eating breakfast at all.

In essence those who eat breakfast are more likely to eat fewer calories in other meals they eat during the day and are healthier than those who skip breakfast.

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[Source: Forbes]