Usual breakfast eating habits affect response to breakfast skipping in overweight women

Abstract

Objective This randomized, cross-over trial was designed to investigate the metabolic and appetitive responses to skipping breakfast in overweight women who were habitual breakfast Eaters or Skippers. Design and Methods Nine Eaters and nine Skippers were studied on two separate days during which subjects ate breakfast (B), or had no breakfast (NB), followed by a standard lunch meal 4 hours later. Blood sampling for hormones and metabolites was performed after lunch and appetite was rated throughout the day. Results Interactions between day and habitual breakfast pattern were seen for Area Under the Curve (AUC) for insulin and free fatty acids (FFA). Both insulin (p=0.020) and FFA (p=0.023) AUC were higher on the NB day for Eaters, but similar on both days for Skippers. Eaters had higher pre-lunch hunger AUC on the NB day (p=0.015) as well as lower pre-lunch satiety AUC under both conditions (p=0.019). Conclusion Overall, this study showed that the adverse effects of skipping breakfast (higher insulin and FFA responses to lunch, increased hunger and decreased satiety) were found primarily in habitual breakfast eaters. This suggests that meal skipping may have enhanced effects in habitual Eaters due to entrainment of metabolic and appetitive regulatory systems.

The effect of breakfast on appetite regulation, energy balance and exercise performance

“…In research, visual analogue scales have been used to assess appetite sensations, such as hunger and fullness, and can provide a reproducible and reliable assessment of subjective appetite (22) . As would be expected, a well-established pattern of appetite suppression has been observed during the morning when breakfast is consumed, compared with when breakfast is omitted (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31) . However, it is interesting to note that the subjective appetite response to subsequent meals appears to be unaffected by prior omission of breakfast, suggesting that consumption of breakfast only provides a transient suppression of appetite (23,24,(26)(27)(28)(29) .…”

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?

“…Studies that have examined energy intake at both 237 lunch and then dinner (28) or meals plus snacks (31) have not revealed increased intake after morning fasting, refuting the possibility that further compensation occurs throughout the day. This view is 239 also supported by findings of similar energy intake during evening snacks and meals when 240 comparing morning feeding versus fasting followed by a standardised lunch (34) .…”

“…There is some evidence that DIT is greater in the morning than later in the day (52,53) fasting/feeding, DIT during the afternoon was greater following breakfast (34) or not different 331 relative to fasting when measured 1 and 4 hours after lunch (28) . Where energy intake has been 332 matched across 24 hours following breakfast omission by increasing intake at subsequent meals,…”

Matching Meals to Body Clocks—Impact on Weight and Glucose Metabolism

“…This study was conducted over the course of a single day in individuals who regularly ate breakfast. There is some evidence to suggest that there is entrainment in the response to specific meal patterns over time [49]. …”

“…This outcome may have been influenced by the greater number of kilojoules that were consumed closer to the time of testing in one condition (i.e., 100% calories between 1700 and 2100, vs. 30%–40% in the 3 meals/day condition). Alternatively, the glucose test was performed at a time that participants were no longer accustomed to eating, which could have impacted results [49]. In a similarly styled study, healthy, lean men underwent an alternate day fasting protocol, fasting from 2200 h until 1800 h the following day.…”