Why Is Skipping Breakfast Not Good For Your Health?

The saying “eat breakfast like a king, have lunch like a prince and supper as a beggar” perfectly captures the importance of the breakfast meal. This is your first meal of the day, which breaks your overnight fast.

A human being sleeps an average of 6 to 8 hours a night. While your body is mostly in rest mode, it still needs energy for your important organs.

For example, a person who weighs 125 pounds still burns an average of 38 calories while sleeping. This is not a lot, but when you multiply it by the 8 hours you are recommended to sleep, that’s a lot of energy expended. All that energy needs to be replenished when you wake up.

The most important meal of the day

Because of all the energy your body expends while you sleep before you take on the day early in the morning it is important that you restock on energy with a nutritious, hearty meal.

A good breakfast must cater to the needs of the body for the entire day. It is even more important for people who sleep longer than normal. Sleeping longer slows your metabolism - the process that converts the food you eat into energy.

For the people who sleep longer, a good breakfast is even more important as it jumpstarts your metabolism and gives you the energy you need to do your work early.

What happens when you skip breakfast?

Skipping breakfast throws off your body’s rhythm for eating and fasting, which can disrupt your work routines. Not taking breakfast means that your muscles and brain won’t have the blood sugar supply they need to work at their best.

When you proceed to work without the energy a good breakfast provides, it can have negative implications on your health and well-being. Here are some scientific reasons that explain why skipping breakfast is an unwise habit:

1. Impairs metabolism.
2. Leads to low-grade inflammation.
3. Alters metabolism and inflammation, decreasing insulin sensitivity, which can lead to diabetes.
4. Can lead to hunger pangs during odd hours of the day.
5. Hunger leads to the habit of snacking or dependence on junk food over healthier foods, which causes obesity.
6. Obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
7. Alters the hormonal changes, with various implications on your health.

Besides eating a wholesome breakfast every day, another healthy eating habit you can adopt is having regular meals at regular intervals. Make sure you don’t over-eat by limiting portion sizes to just what your body needs to ensure adequate energy supplies. Break large meals into smaller portions that you take at regular, spaced-out intervals.