How noteworthy and crucial is having breakfast (B/F)every day?

induce healthy habits throughout life.

• Ensures a balanced intake of all nutrients and food
• Encourages to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
• Helps lead to having an orderly life and set appropriate wake-up and sleep time
• Improves sleep quality and reduces the risk of insomnia
• Augments mental health, performance, problem-solving ability and over-positive attitude
• Reduces negative feelings like stress, irritation, mood swings and depression
• Enhances physical fitness and strength

It is defined as not having B/F at least 6 times a week, having B/F less than 2 days a week and rarely or never eating B/F. The body is regulated by circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are influenced by the light-dark cycle and food uptake, which is the metabolic signal. Inversely, circadian regulation of metabolic genes affects metabolic outcomes in the body, which signifies feeding. Time and the circadian clock are tightly intertwined. B/F is important to jumpstart daily metabolism. Studies showed that B/F skipping adversely affected circadian gene expression and correlated with increased postprandial glycemic response Breakfast skipping has been considered an important determinant of an unhealthy lifestyle that may serve as a proxy factor for other health-risk behaviours, including alcohol use, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle, as well as low educational attainment, mood changes, and depressive symptoms. It has also been associated with a lower quality of life and chronic stress which may, in turn, increase the lifetime risk of cardiometabolic disease

• High mortality rates
• High serum cholesterol levels
• Frequent health-compromising behaviours
• Reduced satiety
• Increased food cravings
• Poor cognitive function and work performance
• More metabolic abnormalities
• Consume unhealthy foods and beverages and tend to overeat throughout the day

• Don’t feel hungry in the morning
• could not get up early enough to have breakfast at home
• Don’t have time to eat
• Not like to eat early
• Don’t like the food
• Not having anyone to prepare B/F
• Want to lose weight
• Don’t find ready food to eat available
• Long screen time and less sleep makes individual lethargic and less hungry in the morning

• Parents skip B/F regularly, hence children learn the same
• Both parents out for work and lower B/F benefit awareness and motivation among children made them make poor food choices
• Parents are responsible for the availability of foods, setting the rules, and initiating family meal patterns.
• Parents not only influence their children’s decision to eat breakfast, but also the food they choose

• Skipping B/F sometimes is associated with health-compromising behaviours like smoking, alcohol consumption, disordered eating and following unhealthy weight management FAD diets and practices.

A good quality breakfast should provide energy and essential nutrients balanced in proportion to daily needs, and meet individual tastes in a form that is accessible and affordable. Standard nutritional recommendations suggest that an ideal breakfast meal should contain 20 to 35% of daily energy derived from three food groups, including milk and milk derivatives, cereals (unrefined and whole grain) and fresh fruit or juice without added sugar

• Should make feel full for a longer time
• Include less starchy and more complex carbohydrates, so that glucose release into the bloodstream happens slowly. Add foods like whole wheat, ragi, oats, bajra, suji, poha etc
• Choose high-quality low-fat protein sources like soy, eggs, sprouts, boiled channa etc
• Avoid too much use of oil, saturated fat, butter, cheese, sugar and salt
• Have a glass of low-fat milk/less sugar tea or coffee/smoothie/milkshake
• Include a seasonal fruit

1. Parents should set an example for their children by following healthy B/F eating habits
2. Have at least one meal together and holiday B/F with the whole family
3. Set a specific time to have B/F together
4. Involve children in planning, shopping and preparing meals
5. Allocate dining duties to each family member to promote shared experience and bonding
6. Turn off distractions like the TV, computer, tablets and phones during mealtimes
7. Keep toys and books off the table, and talk to children while eating meals
8. Get breakfast organized the night before

As the first meal of the day, breakfast plays an important role in supplying energy and nutrients. After sleeping through the night, the body needs to refresh and regain energy and nutrients in time to engage in physiological activities. A high-quality breakfast can provide adequate energy and nutrients for working and learning activities [2]. In contrast, a low-quality B/F or no B/F leads to lower work efficiency, a large compensatory increase in food intake at the next meal and an excessive burden on the gastrointestinal tract. “B/F”, which is derived from the combination of “break” and “fast”, is primarily consumed after a restful night of voluntary starvation. Individuals wake up requiring immediate nourishment and “break” their “fast” by consuming the first and most important meal of the day and breakfast must provide sufficiently nutritious for optimal physiological health and physical wellbeing of the body throughout the day Many are not able to consume B/F consistently due to several reasons or obstacles. Continuous awareness should be focused and targeted toward resolving the cause of B/F skipping rather than simply promoting the benefits of B/F. Emphasis should be on eating a healthy B/F to boost morning positive mood and maintain the right energy throughout the day.