We hear it all the time.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  People who eat breakfast are healthier, thinner, happier.  Is it true?  Or is breakfast not all that it’s cracked up to be. 

First let’s look at where that idea came from.  Her name is Adele Davis, and she was considered the most influential nutritionist of the early to mid-20th century.  She was actually the only influential nutritionist during that time and was a strong and outspoken believer in a healthy diet as the key to well‐being.  She promoted her message in books that sold millions of copies and as an outspoken television talk‐show guest.  Her message was, “you are what you eat,” and she told Americans that to keep fit and avoid obesity, one should “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”  That’s how breakfast got its golden reputation.  And that reputation has stuck, thanks to opportunistic and aggressive marketing by breakfast food manufacturers. 

Since Davis’s death in 1974, researchers have conducted hundreds of studies attempting to prove or disprove her theory.  Here are the highlights of those results: 

• A 2021 review of 14 observational studies showed that those who eat breakfast seven times per week have a reduced risk for high LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular-related death.  That sounds impressive, but there is no evidence that eating breakfast had anything to do with those reduced health risks.  It is certainly possible that eating breakfast just happens to be a habit common to healthy people.  That still might make breakfast appealing, but only if you adopted a few other healthy habits as well.
• An analysis of data on more than 30,000 North Americans, also published in 2021, shows that people who skip breakfast may miss out on important nutrients.  The most common nutrients those who skipped breakfast fell short on include folate, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, B3, vitamin C and vitamin D.
• One randomized control trial published in 2017 that included 18 participants with type 2 diabetes, and 18 healthy participants found that skipping breakfast caused disrupted circadian rhythms in both groups, suggesting that eating breakfast is vital for keeping our internal clock running on time. Those who skipped breakfast also experienced larger spikes in blood glucose levels after eating.
• On the flip side, although it seems logical that a good breakfast would increase our satiety and lead us to eat less during the day, studies don’t support that notion.  Although many people report increased feelings of satiety after starting their day off with breakfast, a 2021 study published in Nutrients, suggests that those who omit or consume breakfast both end up with nearly identical total daily calorie intakes.
• A 2014 randomized control study carried out over four months tested the effectiveness of a recommendation to eat or skip breakfast on weight loss in 309 overweight or obese adults.  At the end of the study, researchers concluded that eating breakfast did not have any significant impact on weight loss compared with not eating breakfast.

What’s for Breakfast? 

Part of the problem with breakfast as a healthy habit is the fact that American breakfasts are decidedly unhealthy.  A recent USA Today survey asked Americans what their favorite breakfast foods were.  The healthy news is that eggs, a great source of protein and high satiety, came in at number one, the rest of the list is mostly full of fats and sugars.

10. Doughnuts

9.  Home fries

8.  Oatmeal

7.  Fresh fruit

6.  Cereal

5.  Bacon

4.  Pancakes

3.  Toast

2.  Sausage

1.  Eggs 

As a matter of fact, some seemingly “healthy” breakfast foods contain more sugar than desserts.  Take a look at the chart created by the editors at Vox comparing the sugar content of some breakfast foods with comparable desserts.