New research suggests that eating breakfast could improve heart health

(Image credit: Foxys_forest_manufacture/ iStock)

published 23 April 2019

Opinions on breakfast tend to vary widely: Some say it's the most important meal of the day, while others stick to water until lunchtime rolls around. And the science has gone back and forth on the subject.

Well, add another point to the pro-breakfast column: A new study found that people who skipped breakfast had up to 87 percent more risk for "cardiovascular-related death," USA Today reported. The study, published in this month's issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, took a look at data from 6,550 American adults who were surveyed on their breakfast habits from 1988 to 1994, as well as follow-up data from 2011 on their overall health.

Of the 6,550 initial survey participants, 59 percent reported that they ate breakfast every day, 36 percent said they ate breakfast sometimes, and just 5 percent said they never ate breakfast. By 2011, some data took shape: 2,318 of the participants had died by then, and 619 of those deaths were "heart disease-linked." In addition, people who skipped breakfast were more likely to have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other factors that might contribute to the risk of heart disease.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox