Breakfast has long gotten a good rap for everything from aiding weight loss to improving focus in the classroom and ever since the Alameda County study in California back in the 1960s linked breakfast along with a host of other habits to a longer lifespan, there has been a societal push towards breaking the fast.
According to a Japanese study (study was published in journal Stroke), it is very much important to take your breakfast because skipping breakfast might increase risk of stroke.
Researchers from Osaka University found that those who did not eat breakfast were 20% more likely to get a heart stroke compared to those who ate breakfast every day.
So, why does skipping breakfast might increase risk Of stroke?
Though the study doesn’t show the exact reason for it, it is believed that skipping breakfast leads to high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which in turn increases the risk of a stroke.
The scientists analyzed food questionnaire data and health outcomes from 1992-2008 on 26,902 male health professionals, ages 45-82. During the study, 1,572 of the men had cardiac events. Even after accounting for diet, physical activity, smoking, and other lifestyle factors, the association between skipping breakfast and heart disease persisted.
It’s a really simple message. Breakfast is an important meal,” according to senior author Eric Rimm, associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at HSPH.
Other studies have pointed to a link between breakfast and obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other health problems seen as precursors to heart problems. While the study group was composed mostly of white men, the results are likely to apply to women and other ethnic groups, but additional studies should be conducted, the researchers said.
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