Bad Breakfast Habits Up Risks in Youths

Researchers from Umea University in Sweden found that adolescents who ate poor breakfast would be at greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome later in their adulthood. Metabolic syndrome refers to an increased risk of cardiovascular disorders such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes. It encompasses abdominal obesity, high levels of harmful triglycerides, low levels of protective HDL (High Density Lipoprotein), high blood pressure and high fasting blood glucose levels.

The research was conducted on 889 students in their year nine of schooling about what they had for breakfast. After twenty seven years, the health checks were repeated when the participants were forty three years old revealing the syndrome in those who neglected their breakfast. The socioeconomic factors and the lifestyle habits of the adolescents were also considered during the study which was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

“Further studies are required for us to be able to understand the mechanisms involved in the connection between poor breakfast and metabolic syndrome, but our results and those of several previous studies suggest that a poor breakfast can have a negative effect on blood sugar regulation,” said study lead author Maria Wennberg.

Research at the University of Missouri-Columbia recently found that high protein-powered breakfasts including sausage and eggs curbed hunger throughout the morning, compared to carb-based meals like pancakes.

Infoeditor