GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. – We’ve been hearing for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, is skipping your morning meal really that bad for your health?
The Mayo Clinic says eating a healthy breakfast every day can help you shed extra pounds, make healthier food choices and give you more energy.
However, a recent study of obese adults found no difference in weight change between obese people who ate breakfast and those who skipped the morning meal. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Holly Willis, Program Director of Nutrition at St. Catherine University, says when it comes to breakfast it's best not to generalize.
"It's really interesting. There's a lot of misinformation out there about eating breakfast and how it interacts with health," says Willis. "You read it in just about every trade publication out there it says if you eat breakfast in general your going to have higher metabolism, it's the meal that will jumpstart your metabolism for the day. You know when you really dig down into it, the data are not there to support that."
Willis says the study is not earth shattering news, but still interesting as it refutes many breakfast theories out there. She adds that weight loss doesn't come down to breakfast. It comes down to total eating habits and calories ingested versus calories burned.
"My life would be so easy if I could say 'if you just did this,'" says Willis.
