Beware! Skipping breakfast can actually make you fat

It has been a well-known fact for a while now that skipping breakfast isn't a very healthy practice. Many professional nutritionists and dietitians also advise their clients against it. Breakfast is often touted as the most important meal of the day. Now a new study has confirmed that skipping breakfast may lead to weight gain, rather than help you lose weight. Researchers lead by Kevin Smith from Mayo Clinic in the US conducted the study and found that obesity was one of the results of habitual skipping of breakfast. The study also found that people, who never ate breakfast, reported the greatest levels of weight gain over the course of the past year.

"Infrequent breakfast consumption is associated with indices of central obesity and weight gain, with these associations being more evident in individuals who never eat breakfast", said Smith. From the sample size of the study, 26.7 per cent of the people who skipped breakfast were obese, compared to 10 per cent of the people who ate breakfast. The researchers analysed the breakfast habit of a total of 347 people between 2005 and 2017. All the participants were in the age bracket of 18 to 87 years of age and they were examined for their height, weight and hip circumference.

Smith added: "Our findings on healthy adults are consistent with prior observations in the young, corroborating the concept that regular consumption of this meal is an important and independent contributor of healthy weight at all ages." The bottom line is that skipping breakfast must be avoided at all costs, especially if you're someone trying to lose weight.

Here are some quick, healthy breakfast ideas for people wanting to lose weight:

1. Oatmeal: Just take some sugar-free instant oats, throw in a little milk and stick your bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add natural sweeteners like honey or fruits like berries, apples, etc to make your oatmeal more nutritious.

2. Fruit Smoothie: Blend in some fruits with milk and yogurt. Throw in some cereal to make your smoothie more filling. Bananas are the popular choices for breakfast smoothies.

3. Peanut Butter And Banana Toast: All you need is a bread toast and some organic peanut butter. You can choose between the smooth and the crunchy variants. Spread the peanut butter on your toast and add some pieces of banana to it. You may sprinkle some chia seeds and drizzle some honey on top to make it more nutritious.

4. Boiled/Poached Eggs On Toast: Eggs are one of the most nutritious breakfast foods out there. They are low in calories and rich in protein. Poach or boil your egg and place it top of a crunchy bread toast for a nutritious and filling breakfast. Pair it with some black coffee or tea for your caffeine fix.

5. Granola: This one needs a bit preparation. All you need to do is make some homemade granola using rolled oats and your favourite nuts and seeds, and store it in an airtight container. In the morning, all you need to do is throw the granola in a bowl, along with some milk and fruits and you're breakfast is ready!

Some soaked nuts and dried fruits like almonds, cashews, figs and raisins also great foods to eat with breakfast.