Why Skipping Breakfast is Wreaking Havoc on Your Health

You've probably heard the saying: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health echoes this sentiment, adding "breakfast provides you with the energy and nutrients that lead to increased concentration in the classroom." But aside from the energy a breakfast meal can provide weary students, skipping breakfast actually has other detrimental effects on the body.

According to a 2013 study by the Harvard School of Public Health, men who said they skipped breakfast consistently were more susceptible to heart attacks or fatal coronary heart disease. 

"Skipping breakfast may lead to one or more risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which may in turn lead to a heart attack over time," said Leah E. Cahill, lead author of the study at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Read more: 5 Healthy Breakfast Ideas That Take Less Than 10 Minutes to Make for the Busy Millennial

But that's not all. Skipping breakfast might be responsible for elevating blood sugar levels in those with Type 2 diabetes for the rest of the day, according to a clinical trial out of Tel Aviv University. The researchers found that individuals who skipped breakfast saw that their blood sugar levels were 37 percent higher at lunchtime, than on days they consumed breakfast. And the blood sugar levels remained higher through dinnertime. 

"This is of high relevance since skipping breakfast has progressively increased over the past decades in Western society," Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, Tel Aviv University professor of medicine and the study's lead author, told HealthDay. She warns that individuals with Type 2 diabetes should "never skip breakfast."