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Skipping breakfast alters glucose regulation throughout day
Adults with diabetes who skip breakfast increase their risk for postprandial hyperglycemia and an impaired insulin response that will continue even after eating lunch and dinner, according to research in Diabetes Care.
Daniela Jakubowicz, MD, of Wolfson Medical Center and Tel Aviv University in Israel, and colleagues analyzed data from 22 patients with type 2 diabetes for less than 10 years who had not completed shift work in at least 5 years (12 men; mean age, 57 years; mean BMI, 28.2 kg/m²; mean diabetes duration, 8.4 years; mean HbA1c, 7.7%) randomly assigned to 2 test days that included lunch and dinner, either with or without breakfast, between October 2012 and January 2014. Researchers, who provided all meals, measured postprandial plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide, free fatty acids, glucagon and intact glucagon-like peptide (iGLP-1) after participants finished lunch and dinner on each test day. All test meals had the same macronutrient content and composition.
The researchers found that participants who skipped breakfast had peaks of plasma glucose after lunch and dinner that were 39.8% and 24.9% higher, respectively (P < .0001), than those who consumed breakfast, lunch and dinner. Researchers also found that area under the curve values for glucose were higher by 36.8% after lunch and 26.6% after dinner for participants who skipped breakfast when compared with those who did not. In addition, insulin levels peaked 30 minutes later after lunch and 60 minutes later after dinner when compared with those who ate breakfast. Researchers also noted reduced concentrations of plasma insulin and C-peptide following lunch and dinner in participants who skipped breakfast.
Plasma free fatty acids and glucagon levels were significantly higher after lunch and dinner in those who did not eat breakfast, according to researchers.
“The study, therefore, shows that breakfast is of major importance for glucose homeostasis, including islet function and incretin hormones, throughout the day,” the researchers wrote.
Researchers noted that the exact duration of the hyperglycemic response following lunch and dinner remains unknown, and that the role of insulin sensitivity, gastric emptying and clock gene expression all remain undefined. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.