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Many of us grew up hearing – and may still hear today – that we should never skip breakfast because “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” It supposedly kickstarts our metabolism, gives us energy, and helps us focus throughout the day. On the other hand, intermittent fasting, a practice popularized over the past decade in which people eat only during specific hours of the day (e.g. 16 hours of fasting overnight and into the morning, followed by eight hours of healthy eating), has copious research backing its health benefits, which include weight loss and cardiometabolic health. The purported benefits of following a schedule of, for example, fasting from 8pm until 12pm the next day, would suggest that breakfast is not the most important meal of the day.
Please note: Intermittent fasting is not recommended for individuals with Type 1 diabetes, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, those susceptible to eating disorders, or those who are underweight. It is important to speak to a medical professional before exploring new dietary patterns.
Breakfast: Is it Important?
- Breakfast: Is It the Most Important Meal? (WebMD – May 2, 2023)
- Is breakfast important? (LiveScience – May 10, 2022)
- Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? (MedicalNewsToday – April 30, 2022)
- Why is breakfast important? Our dietitian gives healthy breakfast ideas (UC Davis Health – April 5, 2022)
- Is Breakfast Important? (Cleveland Clinic – January 31, 2022)
- Skipping Breakfast? The Truth About The “Most Important Meal Of The Day” (Henry Ford Health – July 21, 2021)
- The association of skipping breakfast with cancer-related and all-cause mortality in a national cohort of United States adults (Cancer Causes and Control – February 15, 2021)
- Association between Breakfast Skipping and Body Weight—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Longitudinal Studies (Nutrients – January 19, 2021)
- Breakfast Skipping, Body Composition, and Cardiometabolic Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials (Obesity – April 18, 2020)
- Skipping breakfast is associated with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Obesity Research & Clinical Practice – January – February 2020)
- Skipping Breakfast and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Death: A Systematic Review of Prospective Cohort Studies in Primary Prevention Settings (Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease – August 22, 2019)
- Association of Skipping Breakfast With Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality (Journal of the American College of Cardiology – April 2019)
- The Benefits of Eating Breakfast (WebMD – December 27, 2018)
- Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? (BBC – November 27, 2018)
- Breakfast in Human Nutrition: The International Breakfast Research Initiative (Nutrients – May 1, 2018)
- The Importance of Breakfast in Atherosclerosis Disease: Insights From the PESA Study (Journal of the American College of Cardiology – October 2017)
- Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal. But Why? (Healthline – September 7, 2017)
- Breakfast consumption and depressive mood: A focus on socioeconomic status (Appetite – July 1, 2017)
- Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? (Proceedings of the Nutrition Society – June 13, 2016)
- The Effects of Breakfast and Breakfast Composition on Cognition in Adults (Advances in Nutrition – May 2016)
- The causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in obese adults (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition – March 2016)
- The effect of breakfast on appetite regulation, energy balance and exercise performance (Proceedings of the Nutrition Society – December 14, 2015)
- Why eating the right breakfast is so important (Consumer Reports – August 26, 2015)
- Breakfast (Better Health Channel)
- What Are 9 Benefits of Eating Breakfast? (MedicineNet)
- Why breakfast is the most important meal of the day (Piedmont Health)
- Why You Should Eat Breakfast (Rush University Medical Center)
Breakfast is Recommended for Children and Adolescents
- Healthy Breakfasts for Kids: It’s All About Balance (U.S. Food and Drug Administration – September 1, 2022)
- Breakfast and psychosocial behavioural problems in young population: The role of status, place, and habits (Frontiers in Nutrition – August 23, 2022)
- Children who skip breakfast ‘more likely to have behavioural problems’, study finds (Independent – August 23, 2022)
- Here’s why kids shouldn’t skip breakfast (The Hill – August 23, 2022)
- Kids and teens who skip breakfast may have poorer physical and mental health (MedicalNewsToday – August 23, 2022)
- School Breakfast is Still Our Secret Weapon for Feeding Kids (No Kid Hungry – February 24, 2022)
- Breakfast Consumption and Academic Achievement Among Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model (Frontiers in Psychology – November 21, 2021)
- Breakfast Characteristics and Its Association with Daily Micronutrients Intake in Children and Adolescents–A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Nutrients – October 20, 2020)
- Effect of Eating Breakfast on Cognitive Development of Elementary and Middle School Students: An Empirical Study Using Large-Scale Provincial Survey Data (Medical Science Monitor – November 22, 2019)
- Effects of eating breakfast on children and adolescents: A systematic review of potentially relevant outcomes in economic evaluations (Food and Nutrition Research – September 12, 2019)
- Breakfast and the Brain: How Eating Breakfast Impacts School Performance (Healthy Food Choices in Schools – June 12, 2019)
- A Systematic Review of the Association of Skipping Breakfast with Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents. What Should We Better Investigate in the Future? (Nutrients – February 13, 2019)
- Eat or Skip Breakfast? The Important Role of Breakfast Quality for Health-Related Quality of Life, Stress and Depression in Spanish Adolescents (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health – August 2018)
- Skipping breakfast is associated with lower diet quality in young US children (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition – January 24, 2018)
Methodological Challenges in Studies Examining the Effects of Breakfast on Cognitive Performance and Appetite in Children and Adolescents (Advances in Nutrition – January 2017) - The Effects of Breakfast and Breakfast Composition on Cognition in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review (Advances in Nutrition – May 2016)
- Association between breakfast consumption and educational outcomes in 9–11-year-old children (Public Health Nutrition – September 28, 2015)
Intermittent Fasting: The Basics
- The benefits of intermittent fasting the right way (BBC – March 20, 2024)
- Intermittent Fasting To Lose Weight: Does It Work? (Forbes – February 21, 2024)
- What Are the Pros and Cons of Intermittent Fasting? (Mass General Brigham – February 13, 2024)
- Intermittent fasting: what is it, how does it work – and is it right for you? (The Guardian – February 12, 2024)
- The Best Intermittent Fasting Schedule To Consider For Your Goals And Lifestyle, According To Dietitians (Women’s Health – February 12, 2024)
- Intermittent Fasting 101 — The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide (Healthline – November 20, 2023)
- What Is Intermittent Fasting? Explained in Simple Terms (Healthline – November 20, 2023)
- Six ways to do intermittent fasting (MedicalNewsToday – November 13, 2023)
- What is an intermittent fasting diet? (BBC Good Food – November 2, 2023)
- A guide to 16:8 intermittent fasting (MedicalNewsToday – October 2, 2023)
- Benefits of Different Intermittent Fasting Schedules (Verywell Health – June 15, 2023)
- Intermittent Fasting (WebMD – March 23, 2023)
- Intermittent fasting: Fad or valid weight-loss solution? (Mayo Clinic Health System – June 17, 2022)
- What is intermittent fasting? Does it have health benefits? (Mayo Clinic – May 5, 2022)
- Intermittent Fasting: How It Works and 4 Types Explained (Cleveland Clinic – March 2, 2022)
- Are You Making These Common Intermittent Fasting Mistakes? (Runner’s World – November 1, 2021)
- Intermittent Fasting (JAMA – October 5, 2021)
- Intermittent fasting and weight loss (Canada Family Physicians – February 2020)
- What is 16:8 intermittent fasting and can it help you lose weight? (Today – July 15, 2018)
- Diet Review: Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)
- Intermittent Fasting: What is it, and how does it work? (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
- What is Intermittent Fasting? (Health Matters)
Intermittent Fasting: Health Benefits
- Intermittent fasting and health outcomes: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials (The Lancet – March 11, 2024)
- Clinical application of intermittent fasting for weight loss: progress and future directions (Nature Reviews Endocrinology – February 22, 2022)
- Intermittent fasting: Benefits, how it works, and is it right for you? (UC Davis Health – February 4, 2022)
- Intermittent Fasting and Metabolic Health (Nutrients – January 31, 2022)
- Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Cardiometabolic Health: An Energy Metabolism Perspective (Nutrients – January 23, 2022)
- Intermittent Fasting and Fat Mass: What Is the Clinical Magnitude? (Obesities – January 7, 2022)
Intermittent fasting: eating by the clock for health and exercise performance (BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine – January 7, 2022) - Benefits, mechanisms, and risks of intermittent fasting in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry – January 5, 2022)
- Cardiometabolic Benefits of Intermittent Fasting (Annual Review of Nutrition – October 2021)
- Intermittent Fasting and the Possible Benefits in Obesity, Diabetes, and Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials (Nutrients – September 13, 2021)
- The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Brain and Cognitive Function (Nutrients – September 10, 2021)
- Intermittent fasting in the prevention and treatment of cancer (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians – August 12, 2021)
- Intermittent fasting: The positive news continues (Harvard Health Publishing – February 28, 2021)
- Intermittent fasting for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (Cochrane Database System Review – January 29, 2021)
- Intermittent Fasting: A Heart Healthy Dietary Pattern? (The American Journal of Medicine – August 2020)
- Cardiovascular benefits of intermittent fasting (Cardiovascular Research – February 20, 2020)
- The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting (The New York Times – February 17, 2020)
- Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease (The New England Journal of Medicine – December 25, 2019)
Intermittent Fasting: Potential Health Risks
- Study Links Intermittent Fasting to Increased Heart Risks, Draws Skepticism From Experts (Health – April 2, 2024)
Intermittent fasting: Your heart, your health, your waistline (CNN – March 20, 2024) - Is Intermittent Fasting Bad for Your Heart? Here’s What We Know. (The New York Times – March 21, 2024)
- 8-hour time-restricted eating linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death (American Heart Association – March 18, 2024)
- Risks and benefits of intermittent fasting for the aging cardiovascular system (Canadian Journal of Cardiology – February 12, 2024)
- Effects of Intermittent Fasting on the Circulating Levels and Circadian Rhythms of Hormones (August 27, 2021)
- Intermittent fasting implementation and association with eating disorder symptomatology (Eating Disorders – June 30, 2021)
