7 Reasons Why People Should Always Have Breakfast (Based on Studies)

Last Updated on 2022-08-04 , 9:04 pm

Okay, hands up if you skip breakfast every day simply because you want 15 minutes of extra sleep time.

C’mon, don’t be shy.

Did you know that when I popped this question to my shorter but still handsome colleague, he says that breakfast is a concept invented by Nestle to sell more cereals?

Seriously, he said that.

So there I was, wondering, could that be true?

Well, for a start, I do know that having instant noodles is healthy (and having instant noodles for breakfast is…crazy). Here, take a look at a video we’ve done and you’ll know why.

My wise old colleague went on a staycation with a bunch of other guys and won’t be back anytime soon, so for the first time in my young life of 72 years, I’m going to do some research.

Maybe do a quick search on Yellow Pages or something. And guess what I’ve found?

Having breakfast is actually good for you. That’s so shocking, right? Here’s why.

1. It helps control your weight

Because I’m a mind reader, I know what you’re thinking. Huh, shouldn’t I slim down if I don’t eat breakfast? Lesser calories leh, bro.

Nope, not true. This works on the same logic as eating clean. If you’re eating clean for a month, what’ll happen? You’ll binge eat after the month is up and stay a fat slob like me your entire life, right?

When you skip breakfast, you’re going to be hungrier before lunch. This means you’re likely to reach out for that tasty Mr Potato Chips. 

On the other hand, if you’ve had breakfast, you more likely to be able to control your food intake throughout the day.

So people looking to lose weight, you’ve got to eat breakfast.

But of course lah, it’s worth notice that when we’re talking about breakfast here, we’re talking about eating a healthy, balanced breakfast.

Not fried you tiao hor.

2. Skipping breakfast might lead to higher risk of obesity & diabetes

You know, my mother used to always tell me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I always didn’t believe her because, well, it’s just old wives’ tales.

Plus, she skips breakfast all the time.

But, hey, if you, like me, always disregard what your ma says, this one piece of advice might just be true after all.

A study has found that skipping breakfast actually increases the amount of calories burned over the entire day.

However, it could also possibly lead to chronic inflammation is known to affect your body’s insulin sensitivity. And that could possibly impair your body’s metabolic rate, increasing your risk of getting type-2 diabetes and obesity.

Now, if you’ve been skipping breakfast for decades, don’t be alarmed. Experts have questioned the findings of the study, saying that it’s too early to link chronic inflammation to skipping breakfast.

So just start having breakfast from now on because better to be safe than sorry, right?

And if you really want the calorie burning effect, try skipping dinner instead, though no sane person would do that #justsaying

3. It gives you a good start to your day

Think of your body as a car. Toyota Altis, Lamboghini, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what your car needs to run on.

Energy, right? It could be fuel or it could be electricity, but something must be there for your car to run on.

Food is the fuel for our bodies. Without them, we have no energy to do the things that we want.

After an entire night of fasting, your body need energy to start the day off. Studies has shown that by having breakfast, you can perform better at work in the office or in school.

The brain requires glucose, an essential carbohydrate to function. Breakfast provides this carbohydrate, and is shown to improve your memory and concentration.

4. It’ll keep you from eating food late at night

If you had a heavy dinner the night before, you’re likely to wake up and not feel particularly hungry. You might even feel sick if you try to take a few bites of breakfast.

Now, imagine you’re someone who subscribe to the belief of always having to eat breakfast.

No matter what.

What’s going to happen is that you’ll eat lesser the night before, so you’re hungry when you wake up in time for a healthy breakfast.

Eating late at night could cause sleeping problems and indigestion. Plus, when you eat at night, it’s found that it’s not due to hunger.

It could be an urge to eat while watching a movie, eating when you’re bored and couldn’t sleep, and so on.

In other words, when you eat breakfast daily, you’re kicking the unhealthy habit of eating at night.

5. Breakfast is a MUST if you’re under 18

Under 18? Then you must have breakfast.

Studies have shown that kids under 18, should they have breakfast, have better concentration and memory, is able to perform better in class and retain knowledge better.

Children have a higher brain glucose metabolism compared to adults. Plus, they sleep longer so their glycogen stores will literally be emptied overnight.

So when they wake up, they’ll need to intake energy immediately (read: food) to replenish the stores.

6. Skipping breakfast might make you less physically active than usual

A professor, Dr Gonzalez and his colleagues, decided to try and break the myth of breakfast vs weight loss.

He wanted to find out why people who eat breakfast tend to be slimmer, while people who skipped tend to smoke more and drink more alcohol.

And this is what they found.

Whether you skip breakfast or not, their total energy balance of the day remains the same.

But what they found was that people who eat breakfast are more physically active during the day than those who did not.

So if you skip breakfast and you’re still gaining weight, it might be just that you don’t have the energy to do spontaneous physical activities.

7. Breakfast is the only time of the day you’re likely to eat healthy

Think about it. Do you want (or have the time) to cook yourself lunch to bring to bring to the office? Or go home after a long day of work to cook?

Most days, we simply eat at the coffee shop near our workplaces or in schools. And the food sold there are typically more oily or salty because it tastes better that way.

Meanwhile, at breakfast, you don’t need anything fancy to eat healthy. Two eggs, a piece of wholemeal bread or something along that line.

Plus, since you’re not really keen to leave your house earlier just to grab a snack from Lau Pa Sat, you’ll make do with what you have at home.

Just make sure you stock up on healthy stuff at home and you’re good to go.

So, now that I’ve talked so much about having breakfast, here’s the most important question.

When should you eat breakfast?

Every day? Or skip breakfast, it’s not important anyway.

Here’s what many dietitians are talking about nowadays: Eat only when you feel hungry. Hunger is your body’s way of telling you that you’re almost running on empty, and to refill your tank soon.

In other words, eat breakfast only when you’re hungry. But here’s the thing, work towards eating breakfast daily. 

If you wake up and find that you’re not particularly hungry the next day, it’s likely because of eating too much the night before (refer to #4).