Poor Breakfast Habits in Teens Up Risk of Metabolic Syndrome Later

Teenagers who skip breakfast or only eat sweet treats have 68 percent risk of developing metabolic syndrome in their adulthood.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day that ensures daily supply of nutrients required for growth and development. A recent study by the Northern Swedish Cohort proves that teenagers, who start their day by skipping or eating insufficiently or eating or drinking something sweet, have 68 percent chances of developing  abdominal obesity, blood diseases,  diabetes and stroke  in their later years.  The study is published in the journal of Public Health Nutrition.

The metabolic syndrome is characterized by a string of conditions including high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, high glucose levels or resistance to insulin. According to the American Heart Association, a person with three or more of these conditions has metabolic syndrome.

Researchers from Umea University in Sweden conducted a test on 889 participants with the average age of 16 that mainly focused on their breakfast habits. The participants were classified into three types- healthy breakfast-eaters, breakfast-skippers and sweet junk food-eaters. They were followed for 27 years at different ages-18, 24, 31 and 43 to see if they had developed metabolic syndrome. Of the participants, 9.9 percent were classified with poor breakfast habits at the age of 16 years. Their blood samples were tested that proved that central obesity and high fasting glucose levels were linked to breakfast-skipping at adolescence.

"Further studies are required for us to be able to understand the mechanisms involved in the connection between poor breakfast and metabolic syndrome, but our results and those of several previous studies suggest that a poor breakfast can have a negative effect on blood sugar regulation," study researcher Maria Wennberg, said  in a statement.

With a string of diseases occurring during the middle age, the study aims to promote healthy breakfast habits. Experts emphasize on the golden rule of starting the day with protein and nutrient rich food like eggs, sausage, oats, fruits, milk, etc.

Prior to this research, the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine in Aurora proved that breakfast skipping was linked to obesity issues in women and seemed to temporarily induce insulin resistance.