Choosing to skip breakfast in your middle age, instead of eating a healthy, full meal, may be the cause of weight gain, according to a study.
Around 380 Spaniards with 'metabolic syndrome' took part in a three-year study, where data was collected on their health, weight and eating habits.
Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that occur together, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
These include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels.
The study found that a large breakfast, making up 20 to 30 percent of daily calorie intake, is better than a small breakfast or no breakfast at all.
NHS guidelines recommend 2,000 calories a day for women and 2,500 for men. A healthy breakfast should make up 20 to 25 percent of your daily calorie intake and include a variety of foods.
According to The Telegraph - reports GazetaExpress - people in the study who consumed about 400 calories in the morning had a lower BMI than those who avoided breakfast. Additionally, their waists were an inch thinner.
Also, those who consumed large and unbalanced breakfasts were less healthy and weighed more compared to those who avoided breakfast.
The study's author, Karla-Alejandra Pérez-Vega from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute in Barcelona, told The Telegraph that the study focused "exclusively" on analyzing breakfast, so it cannot confirm whether it is the most important meal of the day. .
However, she added that "it is undoubtedly an important meal, as it plays a critical role in breaking the long period of fasting from sleep."
She also pointed out that people who avoided breakfast were included in the group that consumed less energy and had "higher weight values over time" compared to those who consumed a large but healthy breakfast.
However, she warned that an English breakfast would not meet the criteria of a balanced breakfast, as it "may exceed energy and saturated fat levels."
MailOnline previously reported that eating breakfast before 7am could extend lifespan.
Researchers from the City University of New York monitored more than 34,000 Americans over the age of 40 over several decades.
Volunteers recorded eating times, and scientists compared these with mortality rates during the study.
The results, published in the Journal of Nutrition, showed that those who ate breakfast between 6 and 7 a.m. were 6 percent less likely to die prematurely from major illnesses such as heart disease or cancer, compared to those who regularly ate breakfast at 8 a.m., and 12 percent less likely to die prematurely compared to those who ate their first meal at 10 a.m. /GazetaExpress/
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