Skipping breakfast worsens blood glucose and insulin later

Breakfast is a cornerstone of healthy metabolism. A study just published in the journal Diabetes Care now shows that skipping breakfast damages the blood glucose and insulin response to meals later in the day. The authors note:

"Skipping breakfast has been consistently associated with high HbA_1c and postprandial hyperglycemia (PPHG) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Our aim was to explore the effect of skipping breakfast on glycemia after a subsequent isocaloric (700 kcal) lunch and dinner. "

They compared postprandial plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide, free fatty acids (FFA), glucagon, and intact glucagon-like peptide-1 (iGLP-1) for subjects randomly assigned to one day with breakfast, lunch, and dinner (YesB) and another with lunch and dinner but no breakfast (NoB). Their data show that skipping the morning meal messed up metabolism for the rest of the day:

"Compared with YesB, lunch area under the curves for 0–180 min (AUC_0–180) for plasma glucose, FFA, and glucagon were 36.8, 41.1, and 14.8% higher, respectively, whereas the AUC_0-180 for insulin and iGLP-1 were 17% and 19% lower, respectively, on the NoB day (P < 0.0001). Similarly, dinner AUC_0-180 for glucose, FFA, and glucagon were 26.6, 29.6, and 11.5% higher, respectively, and AUC_0-180 for insulin and iGLP-1 were 7.9% and 16.5% lower on the NoB day compared with the YesB day (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, insulin peak was delayed 30 min after lunch and dinner on the NoB day compared with the YesB day. "

In other words, it worsened hyperglycemia and insulin resistance after both lunch and dinner. The authors conclude:

"Skipping breakfast increases PPHG after lunch and dinner in association with lower iGLP-1 and impaired insulin response. This study shows a long-term influence of breakfast on glucose regulation that persists throughout the day. Breakfast consumption could be a successful strategy for reduction of PPHG in type 2 diabetes."

It's also clearly important for prevention of type 2 diabetes and all the depredations of insulin resistance and dysregulated blood sugar.