How many times have you gone out without breakfast or gone to bed without dinner? People skip meals for various reasons, such as a busy schedule, lifestyle, or because they are trying to lose weight.
However, skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner can
have unexpected consequences for your health and metabolism.
We know for
sure this is not the best option, even not the healthiest one, but we still
fall over and over again, without thinking about whether it will affect us in
any way. And indeed, as we can imagine,
it has effects on our bodies.
1. Risk of
Diabetes
Starting the day without breakfast increases the chances of developing diabetes since eating this food helps maintain stable blood sugar levels and insulin production.
According to a study by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, people who skip
meals have elevated fasting glucose levels and delayed insulin response,
conditions that, if they persist over the long term, could lead to diabetes.
Healthy and
Safe
If you are in a hurry in the morning or have no appetite, you should aim for a diet that provides all the necessary nutrients without excess calories.
Try to eat foods
that are low in fat but contain plenty of other nutrients, such as whole grains
and bread, fruits, vegetables, milk, yogurt, cheese, lean meats, and other
protein sources.
2. It Is Bad for
The Heart
Skipping meals, especially breakfast, is a bad habit that, in the long run, can take its toll, according to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health.
According to the
researchers, men who skip breakfast have a 27% higher chance of suffering a
heart attack or fatal heart disease.
Lower Your Risk
"There is
no need to skip breakfast. Eating breakfast means a lower risk of heart
attacks. Incorporating many types of healthy foods into breakfast is an easy
way to ensure that the meal provides adequate energy and a healthy balance of
nutrients, such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals,"
recommends Leah E. Cahill, author of the study.
3. Fewer Calories,
More Weight
Giving up food at lunch, breakfast, or dinner time seems to be a quick way to lose weight since it would mean eating less food and fewer calories.
However, this belief
is just a myth; the reality is that when you stop eating some food, your
metabolism becomes unbalanced and slows down, which in turn causes you to spend
fewer calories, store more fat and gain weight.
The Fasting
Body
Eating in the
morning allows the metabolism to kick into high gear, explains Elisabetta Politi of the Duke University School of Medicine's Center for Diet and Physical
Activity. "By skipping breakfast, you leave the body fasting for 15 to 20
hours, so you don't produce the enzymes needed to metabolize fat and lose
weight.
4. Metabolic
Syndrome
Young people
who skip breakfast are 68% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome (abdominal
obesity, high triglyceride levels, low levels of good cholesterol,
hypertension, and high blood glucose levels) in adulthood, according to a study
by the Department of Clinical Medicine and Public Health at Umea University in Sweden.
Metabolism Is
Key
Metabolism is the process the body uses to obtain or produce energy from the food it eats. Suppose a person starts skipping meals and restricting the number of calories consumed throughout the day.
In that case, the metabolism adapts to the new
situation and expends the minimum amount of energy, resulting in no weight
loss. (U.S. National Library of Medicine).
Breakfast in
Adolescence
According to the American Dietetic Association, breakfast should provide protein, fats, and carbohydrates so that the body has enough "fuel" to get through the day.
Some foods such as yogurt, milk, and cheese have these three components;
others should be combined for a complete meal.
5. Fatty Food
Cravings
Skipping meals, especially breakfast, can increase cravings for fatty, high-calorie foods.
According to research from Imperial College London, in the United Kingdom,
ignoring the first meal of the day favors an unbalanced diet and enhances
voracity; you could end up ingesting 20% more calories.
What Can You
Do?
Instead of
skipping meals, the key is to burn more calories than consume and control
portions. Aim to eat more fruits and vegetables, cut down significantly on
fatty meats (such as hamburgers and sausages), fried and fatty foods, and
sweets, drink more water instead of sugary drinks such as sodas sports drinks.
6. Headache
Skipping meal times or skipping meals is a trigger for headaches and can start hurting even before noticing that we are hungry.
According to a study by the National Pain
Foundation of the United States, being hungry can lead to low blood sugar,
which in turn can cause a headache.
7. Nutrient Imbalance
Skipping meals
decreases the number of vitamins, minerals, protein, or other essential
nutrients the body needs to function correctly. Nutrient imbalance can cause
nausea, fatigue, constipation, and low blood pressure.
Health
Consequences of Skipping A Meal
Eating behavior influences the body's metabolism. When a person breaks the usual cycle by skipping a meal, their metabolism deteriorates. This will first result in unusual fatigue, making reflexes and the mind slower.
The energy becomes so
depleted that the person may be disabled in their daily life.
Furthermore, skipping a meal also leads to an imbalance in the body. The body used to receive food will not adapt to this sudden interruption. It will even cause feelings of hunger out of control.
It then becomes much more difficult to avoid overeating when the surface of thirst comes and goes unusually. It is also possible that the opposite case may occur, i.e., that the feeling of hunger is absent when it is time to eat.
When the body is deregulated in this way, the
proper functioning of the metabolism is impaired. This can lead to
after-effects such as increased diabetes.
Physical
Consequences of Skipping A Meal
The other consequence is physical since a skipped meal makes you fat. Indeed, when a person does not eat, his body stores fat that accumulates on top of the fat already present, so that it causes a rapid increase in weight and mass.
Moreover, skipping a meal leads to unbearable feelings of starvation that will
incite most people to snack during the day or overeat to compensate. These
reactions will further increase weight gain.
Since abstaining from food will reduce the dynamism of the metabolism, as we have said, that's not all. However, it is essential to know that the metabolism serves to burn the fat ingested during the day.
So, slowing it down will
necessarily reduce the amount of fat that it can burn. After skipping a meal, the food you eat
afterward will form more fat than if you hadn't missed a meal.
U.S Trend
In the United States, according to a study by the National Eating Trends (NPD Group) market research group, one in 5 adults, or about 60 million people, eat nothing or drink nothing each morning or make nutrient-poor choices. About 18% of that number are men, and 13% are women between 35 and 54.