Health & Medicine

Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day: Here's Why

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jul 22, 2013 10:56 PM EDT

A new study shows that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.

In fact, a study of older men who regularly skipped the morning meal were up to a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack than those that indulged.

But why would skipping breakfast make you more prone to a heart attack?

Health experts believe that people who do not eat breakfast may eat larger meals later in the day due to hunger. As the body will take a larger amount of calories in a shorter amount of time, spiked sugar levels can clog arteries and potentially lead to heart attack symptoms.

"We don't know whether it's the timing or content of breakfast that's important. It's probably both," said Andrew Odegaard, a University of Minnesota researcher who has studied a link between skipping breakfast and health problems like obesity and high blood pressure, via USA Today. "Generally, people who eat breakfast tend to eat a healthier diet," 

Researchers examined 27,000 men regarding their daily eating habits since 1992. Of all the educated health professionals that were 45 and older, 13 percent said they regularly skipped breakfast.

Results showed tht 7 percent of the men who skipped breakfast had heart attacks compared to 6 percent of those who ate breakfast.

More information regarding the study can be found in the journal Circulation

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