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Skipping breakfast may increase type 2 diabetes risk

Individuals who skipped breakfast were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to research published in the Journal of Nutrition.

“Some available evidence from observational studies suggest that breakfast skipping is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Our aim was to summarize findings from these epidemiological studies and investigate the influence of overweight for this association,” Sabrina Schlesinger, MSc, PhD, from the Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany, from told Healio Primary Care Today.

Schlesinger and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine if breakfast skipping influences the risk of type 2 diabetes.

The researchers identified and studied six prospective cohort studies including 96,175 participants.

They found that participants who skipped breakfast had a RR of 1.33 (95% CI, 1.22-1.46) for type 2 diabetes compared with those who never skipped breakfast. After adjusting for BMI, the RR for type 2 diabetes among participants who skipped breakfast vs. those who did not was 1.22 (95% CI, 1.12-1.34).

Individuals who skipped breakfast were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

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Each additional day of breakfast skipping increased the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the nonlinear dose-response meta-analysis. At 4 to 5 days per week of skipping breakfast, the increased risk plateaued at 55% (RR = 1.55; 95% CI, 1.41-1.71). Breakfast skipping for more than 5 days per week yielded no additional increase in type 2 diabetes risk.

“Our findings showed that the association was partly mediated by BMI,” Schlesinger said. “But even after correction for BMI an association was still present. In our discussion, we speculated if dietary quality in general or overeating during the day could be possible explanations for this association.”

“More studies are needed to strengthen the evidence on this association,” she said. “Future studies should also focus on breakfast quality to support public health recommendations regarding breakfast consumption and health.” – by Alaina Tedesco

Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.