The Nuance
You Are Engineered to Eat Breakfast
Research in the field of chronobiology strengthens the case for a morning meal
Should you, or shouldn’t you? The Great Breakfast Debate has been raging for more than 800 years and shows little signs of mellowing.
Its roots date back at least to the Middle Ages when prominent members of the Catholic Church (notably Thomas Aquinas) adopted the view that “eating too early” was a form of gluttony. People have been arguing about the meal’s merits (or demerits) ever since.
Today, much of the argument centers around breakfast’s role in weight gain.
The anti-breakfast camp seems to have logic on its side. How could cutting out an entire meal not be helpful if you’re watching your weight? But, paradoxically, researchers keep finding evidence that eating breakfast is associated with lower body weights and improved health outcomes.
For example, a 2020 review in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found that “skipping breakfast increases the risk of overweight/obesity. Another recent study found that breakfast-eating is associated with lower rates of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, and metabolic syndrome.
