Study Highlights the Importance of Eating Breakfast

Research on how skipping breakfast affects nutrition has mostly been focused on kids, but there are likely nutritional implications for adults who skip breakfast, too.

To address the knowledge gap, researchers from Ohio State University conducted a study to examine how skipping “the most important meal of the day” affects adult health.

The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which collected health information on a nationally representative population each year between 2005 and 2016.

The data, which consisted of interviews, physical exams, and laboratory tests, included 30,889 adults aged 19 and older. Of those adults, 15.2% (or 4,924 adults) reported skipping breakfast.

The researchers first analyzed data from a 24-hour dietary recall that participants completed as a component of the NHANES. Then, they estimated nutrient intakes and MyPlate equivalents using the Food and Nutrients for Dietary Studies and the Food Patterns Equivalents Database. 

Stephanie Fanelli, MS, RDN, LD, a registered dietician and co-author of the study at Ohio State University, tells Verywell that the participants self-designated their eating occasions, sharing the meals that they ate.

“This is how we calculate intakes by breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack,” says Fanelli. “We estimated diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2015.” 

Fanelli says that the higher a person's diet quality score, the better their diet adhered to the DGA. When comparing scores to the HEI, participants who skipped breakfast had an overall lower-quality diet when compared to those who ate breakfast.

Missing Out

The study's main message is that people who don't eat breakfast are missing out on key vitamins and other nutrients that are found in traditional American foods included in the meal.

“Dairy products, like milk and yogurt, provide calcium, vitamins, and protein,” Chris Taylor, PhD, LD, FAND, nutrition professor at Ohio State University and researcher, tells Verywell. People who don't eat breakfast are not as likely to get these nutritional benefits as people who do eat the meal.

Lost Nutrition, "Gains" Elsewhere

The study also found that there were macronutrient and micronutrient consequences for adults who skipped breakfast.

Fanelli says that the adults who skipped breakfast "consumed more carbohydrates including added sugars, total fat including saturated, and less fiber" than people who ate the first meal of the day.

Taylor adds that people who skipped breakfast were also more likely to consume poorer quality snacks, “adding breakfast will address the relative gap in those 'missed' nutrients, but higher intakes at lunch and dinner, as well as the poor snacking, will need to be addressed as a big picture."

The Bottom Line on Breakfast

The data gave researchers a glimpse into the dietary habits among American adults, but there was one limitation to the study. Taylor says that the research "does not show causation or the ability to capture deficiency," but it does provide "a unique opportunity to explore the foods eaten by a large number of people to explore patterns in their intakes."

Much of nutrition data solely focuses on the average intake of calories or fat per 24-hour period without accounting for the foods or meals that make up that daily total. To combat the issue, Fanelli and Taylor coded the intakes of food to classify meals, giving them a deeper understanding of the implications and patterns. 

“At the root of our findings, we see that the simple habit of eating breakfast has the potential for beneficial nutrition impact,” says Fanelli. “Breakfast provides an opportunity to consume nutrient-dense foods, not only helping you meet the recommended intake levels but also helps you improve your overall diet quality. Eating breakfast is a feasible strategy to improve your health.”