Nutritionists have warned Nigerians against skipping breakfast on a regular basis, saying that the practice raises their chances of developing health problems such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation. Dr. James Oloyede, a nutrition and public health specialist, and Dr. Goke Ogunlana, a dietician, noted that skipping breakfast can lower blood sugar levels, delay metabolism, and raise hormone stress. Those who skip breakfast, unknown to many Nigerians, are at risk of developing heart disease, according to doctors.
They went on to say that having breakfast helps with insulin level stabilization and glycogen replenishment, and that those who miss breakfast frequently feel overly hungry, irritable, and weary. Those who eat breakfast are more likely to have a healthy diet, according to Dr. Ogunlana, since they consume more fibre and minerals. He also mentioned that eating breakfast can help the body burn calories, emphasizing that when people miss meals for a lengthy period of time, their bodies begin to store as many calories as they can.
Breakfast means, breaking the fast from the entire night.
He also said, having breakfast can help your body burn more calories throughout the day, according to certain research. When you go without food for an extended length of time, your body begins to store as many calories as it can in preparation for a possible period of hunger. The body even uses the glucose stored in your muscles as a backup source of fuel when metabolism levels drop, causing your muscles to deteriorate. “Breakfast” refers to “breaking the fast” from the entire night spent sleeping. Eating in the morning helps to stabilize insulin levels and restore glycogen stores.
If you don’t replenish your glucose levels in the morning, you’ll feel extremely hungry, irritated, and fatigued. These symptoms will appear first thing in the morning, especially if you skip breakfast. If you habitually skip breakfast, you are more likely to gain weight and have a higher risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol. In a research that lasted sixteen years, it was shown that guys who skipped breakfast every day had a 27 percent increased chance of having a heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease.
Missing breakfast can cause a cardiovascular (CVD) event.
Dr. Oloyede, a former Director of Nutrition Services in Osun State, emphasized in his submission that skipping breakfast is detrimental even for weight loss. When breakfast is ignored, the clock genes associated with weight loss are frequently down-regulated, resulting in a surge in blood sugar in healthy people and impaired insulin responses in diabetics for the remainder of the day. This mechanism demonstrates that skipping breakfast frequently results in weight increase, even if such individuals do not overeat the remainder of the day.
According to a study published online by the National Library of Medicine titled ‘Skipping Breakfast and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Death: A Systematic Review of Prospective Cohort Studies in Primary Prevention Settings,’ people who skip breakfast may be more likely to experience negative health outcomes than people who eat breakfast regularly. The study also revealed that those who frequently skip breakfast are roughly 21% more likely to have a cardiovascular (CVD) event or die from one, and 32% more likely to die from all causes than those who eat breakfast regularly.
Skipping breakfast has also been linked to increased arterial stiffness.
The data for the analysis was extracted from studies that reported the prospective connection between skipping breakfast and the risk of CVD development and mortality, as well as all-cause death, and were published online between the beginning of the study and May 5, 2019. Breakfast deprivation has been linked to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation, and it may also affect serum lipids and postprandial insulin sensitivity, according to the study. The study also found that skipping breakfast increases arterial stiffness and carotid atheromatic stress.
Related Link
EDH: Website
Fact-Checking Tool – Snopes.com
