In a modern world where information overload is the norm, it can be difficult to sift through all the data and research to find what can truly benefit your weight loss journey. The age-old idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is no exception to this constant questioning and uncertainty.

You could spend your time reading confusing scientific studies, but let’s be honest: that takes a lot of time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere. In a recent study, Effect of breakfast on weight and energy intake: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, the correlation between eating breakfast and weight loss was examined. The conclusions speak for themselves.

Skipping Breakfast for Weight Loss

This study reached two basic conclusions: skipping breakfast can lead to lower daily energy (calorie) intake and aid in weight loss. So, long story short, the most important meal of the day may be quite the opposite if weight loss is your goal.

What is interesting about these findings is that, while they may seem surprising due to common perceptions of breakfast and its importance in a healthy lifestyle, they are actually quite logical. Lower daily energy intake is key in reducing bodyweight. In fact, a caloric deficit is key to naturally losing weight.

What it Means

Whether it’s a modification to your current diet or the implementation of a totally new regimen, the inclusion of breakfast can be detrimental to your weight loss goals. As such, it is important to question such advice and approach your weight loss with a more personalized strategy.

You may wish to apply the findings in this research to your own weight loss plan to evaluate what works best for you. As always, if you are interested in this study and in including it in your diet, speak to a trained physician first.

Details to Note: Skipping Breakfast and Weight loss

While the conclusion of this study suggests a negative correlation between eating breakfast and losing weight, the individual studies that were included had obvious flaws. Among those flaws were the limited duration of the research and a lack of high-quality trials.

In other words, it is important that the results be viewed with a degree of skepticism rather than accepted whole-heartedly. More studies of high-quality, longer duration, and focused intention are needed to confirm and expand on the findings presented here.