People with type 2 diabetes have to be very thoughtful about what and when they eat. That’s because food has a profound impact on blood sugar levels.
A new study suggests that skipping breakfast could have a negative impact on blood glucose throughout the day.
How Skipping Breakfast Affects Blood Sugar:
The investigators recruited 12 men and 10 women for the research. The subjects fasted overnight and then were given either two or three meals the following day while blood glucose was monitored closely.
The meals were carefully designed to provide the same number of calories at lunch and dinner each day. That was how the scientists controlled for dietary changes that might occur whether or not the volunteers ate breakfast. When the participants fasted until noon, blood sugar rose 40 percent higher after lunch and 25 percent higher after supper.
The researchers do not know whether people who don’t have diabetes also regulate blood glucose less well if they skip breakfast. This may offer some explanation of the frequent finding in epidemiological studies that people who eat breakfast tend to lead longer, healthier lives (Preventive Medicine, Jan. 1993; Public Health Nutrition, online Feb. 17, 2015; International Journal of Obesity, June 1, 2015; Public Health, June, 2015).
