Atlanta, GA – Harvard Researchers: Skipping Breakfast May Increase Heart Attack Risk

    7

    Atlanta, GA – Another reason to eat breakfast: Skipping it may increase your chances of a heart attack.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    A study of older men found those who regularly skipped breakfast had a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack than those who ate a morning meal. There’s no reason why the results wouldn’t apply to other people, too, the Harvard researchers said.

    Other studies have suggested a link between breakfast and obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems seen as precursors to heart problems.

    “But no studies looked at long-term risk of heart attack,” said Eric Rimm, one of the study authors at the Harvard School of Public Health.

    Why would skipping breakfast be a heart attack risk?

    Experts aren’t certain, but here’s what they think: People who don’t eat breakfast are more likely to be hungrier later in the day and eat larger meals. Those meals mean the body must process a larger amount of calories in a shorter amount of time. That can spike sugar levels in the blood and perhaps lead to clogged arteries.

    But is a stack of syrupy pancakes, greasy eggs and lots of bacon really better than eating nothing?

    The researchers did not ask what the study participants ate for breakfast, and were not prepared to pass judgment on whether a fatty, sugary breakfast is better than no breakfast at all.

    Other experts agreed that it’s hard to say.

    “We don’t know whether it’s the timing or content of breakfast that’s important. It’s probably both,” said Andrew Odegaard, a University of Minnesota researcher who has studied a link between skipping breakfast and health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

    “Generally, people who eat breakfast tend to eat a healthier diet,” he added.

    The new research was released Monday by the journal Circulation. It was an observational study, so it’s not designed to prove a cause and effect. But when done well, such studies can reveal important health risks.

    The researchers surveyed nearly 27,000 men about their eating habits in 1992. About 13 percent of them said they regularly skipped breakfast. They all were educated health professionals — like dentists and veterinarians — and were at least 45.

    Over the next 16 years, 1,527 suffered fatal or non-fatal heart attacks, including 171 who had said they regularly skipped breakfast.

    In other words, over 7 percent of the men who skipped breakfast had heart attacks, compared to nearly 6 percent of those who ate breakfast.

    The researchers calculated the increased risk at 27 percent, taking into account other factors like smoking, drinking, diet and health problems like high blood pressure and obesity.

    As many as 18 percent of U.S. adults regularly skip breakfast, according to federal estimates. So the study could be important news for many, Rimm said.

    “It’s a really simple message,” he said. “Breakfast is an important meal.”


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    7 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    10 years ago

    When I was as a kid I was always told ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’
    I never realized how right it was!

    10 years ago

    Our Torah is right again. We all know that eating breakfast especially bread as the gemorrah tells us one who eats bread will outdo ten men. Our Torah is eternal. We always knew world was round as the zohar beginning vayikra describes it. And so on with all secrets of nature.

    ChachoMoe
    ChachoMoe
    10 years ago

    Sometimes these stats are just a simple waste of time and money, like on this case, they will try to link anything with the two. But when you use a little common sense, it sounds simple, the very people that “skip breakfast” are the very ones that are in a rush in the morning and have no time to sit down and relax over a full meal. Those are simply the ones that are most likely to have a heart attack. You don’t need to a rocket scientist to figure that out.

    yaakov doe
    Member
    yaakov doe
    10 years ago

    Doesn’t what you have for breakfast effect your health? I’d assume that the traif fast food breakfasts so heavily advertised on radio don’t ad to longevity.

    DRSLZ
    DRSLZ
    10 years ago

    Components for a healthy life include:
    1) Nutrition–5 portions of fruits and vegetables daily
    2) 3 meals daily, primarily healthy foods
    3) Regular exercise, minimum of 10-20 minutes, 4 days a week, with possibly some interval training
    4) Relaxation
    5) Spirituality
    6) Learning something new daily

    qwe123
    qwe123
    10 years ago

    Firstly, i would never make light of chazal anyway.
    But isn’t it ABSOLUTELY obvious?
    Someone who is comfortable and burning unwanted fat at breakfast time, ok, he doesn’t feel like he’s working on empty.
    But in general, when an older person feels spent, and doesn’t eat, he is going to be putting the stress on his heart, for lack of ready energy.
    And a younger person starts burning fat reserves sooner, plus, his heart can take more abuse without giving way.
    But simply, to not eat just when you need energy [and in the morning, after resting, we are more likely to start the day expending energy], puts big stress on the heart.

    Who doesn’t realize this?

    And when you do eat, what happens? First, you get a little energy straight away, plus, your body gives out energy from yesterdays food because it will have new food to replace it so it unlocks what there is from before.

    Isn’t this the biggest reason?