Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?

Question

Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day. WebMD tells you why and what it can do for you.

Comments

While many experts agree that eating 3 healthy meals a day is good for ones mental and physical health, there is no definitive data or statement that directly defines breakfast as the most important meal of the day. Many other factors need to be taken into account when defining the importance of a certain aspect of ones dietary health.

In a paper published in the National Institute of Health (NIH), we can read that, "Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day and in recent years has been implicated in weight control, cardio-metabolic risk factors and cognitive performance although, at present, the literature remains inconclusive as to the precise health benefits of breakfast." This means that there has not been a definitive answer as to whether or not breakfast is THE most important meal of the day. In the same article it also states that "significant variation exists in the definitions of breakfast and breakfast skippers, and in methods used to relate breakfast nutrient intakes to overall diet quality". This points to the conclusion that different definitions exist for different people and that different results can be observed within different diets

In the same source cited in the claim, it is stated that "Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, helping you burn calories throughout the day. It also gives you the energy you need to get things done and helps you focus at work or at school. Those are just a few reasons why it’s the most important meal of the day.
Many studies have linked eating breakfast to good health, including better memory and concentration, lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, and lower chances of getting diabetes, heart disease, and being overweight. It’s hard to know, though, if breakfast causes these healthy habits or if people who eat it have healthier lifestyles", supporting the point that different dietary lifestyles cannot be used to define breakfast as the most important meal of the day.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5986439/#sec1-nutrients-10-00559
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/breakfast-lose-weight

Answer 1

This article discusses the benefits of eating breakfast, specifically as it pertains to children. A lot of these benefits are supported by research and studies. For example, the fact that eating breakfast in the morning jumpstarts metabolism is a widely agreed upon fact that can be confirmed with multiple sources. Similarly, the downside it can have on youth performance in school is also emphasized across multiple sources (https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/breakfast-most-important-meal-day). 

Most notably though, this article from its title to its contents allows this fact to be applied to personal circumstances. It doesn't declare breakfast as the most important meal, it simply suggests its benefits without enforcing too much. A lot of other articles discussing this topic take a similar approach by ultimately concluding with the fact that the meal's important depends on the individual.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-breakfast-really-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day#Evidence-in-support-of-eating-breakfast

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-you-really-need-to-eat-breakfast

Comments

You did a great job presenting the evidence for the benefits of eating breakfast, especially by referencing credible sources like Cleveland Clinic and Medical News Today. However, I think it’s worth digging deeper into the idea that breakfast “jumpstarts metabolism.” While widely believed, some research suggests that the effect of breakfast on metabolism might be overstated or varies greatly between individuals. Adding a source or study that explores the nuance of this claim could strengthen your argument.

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I really like this fact-check and I really liked that you focused specifically on children. I also liked that you provided multiple different sources to back up your claim. I do agree with the comment above that digging into metabolism would be helpful but other than that it's a very strong fact-check.

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The articles that conclude the benefits of eating breakfast in the morning do not just apply to children. They're are benefits for everyone. Everyone's body in the morning is low of energy since we just fasted for 7-10 hours during the night. Once we wake up in the morning, we should feed ourselves to get back nutrients in our bodies and fuel them. Personally, I feel a lot more energized when i have a meal in the morning, versus when i don't.
"Eating breakfast can have positive effects on both your mind and body, no matter what age you are," (Williams 2024).

https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/breakfast-most-important-meal-day

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This fact check is very well thought out and put together. The sources used came from facts and had credibility. It examines on article where it asserts that Breakfast is the outright most important meal of the day and others hat focus on the benefits of it without taking sides with comparing Breakfast being at the beginning  of the day help put vitamin an nutrients that fill energy for the rest of the day. Gets you awake and ready for the most important hours out of the day. Breakfast overall creates a genuinely conductive environment for your mind and body to complete the day effectively.

Answer 2

The claim states that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After fact-checking this claim I believe it to be true. There are a lot of benefits that come with eating breakfast in the morning. Eating breakfast “jumpstarts your metabolism and, thus, helps you burn more calories throughout the day.” The source provided gives a lot of good information, and I found another source from Rush University Medical Center that gives a lot of the same information, but is helpful as well. One thing I have noticed is that these fact-checks simply speak about the importance of the meal itself, and that skipping it is not as beneficial as not skipping it, but they fail to say anywhere that it is actually the most important meal of the day. Overall, it is clear that breakfast is important, but it’s hard to say that it is the most important meal of the day, as that depends more on other factors. 

Comments

I agree with your comment that breakfast holds many benefits to everyday life. Also, since there is multiple health and University research about this topic, there is more proof to tell us why it is the most important meal of the day. After reading more about the benefits of breakfast, here is a quote to put it in a better perspective, "In the morning, after you have gone without food for as long as 12 hours, your glycogen stores are low. Once all of the energy from your glycogen stores is used up, your body starts to break down fatty acids to produce the energy it needs. But without carbohydrate, fatty acids are only partially oxidised, which can reduce your energy levels," (Laurens 2024). So in fact, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, since it starts off one's day.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/breakfast

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I agree with much of what you’ve mentioned about the benefits of eating breakfast, particularly in terms of boosting metabolism and helping with calorie burn. It's clear from multiple sources, like the one from Rush University Medical Center, that breakfast can provide important nutrients and energy to start the day. The claim that eating breakfast helps jumpstart metabolism seems well-supported by research.

Answer 3

Society has always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While breakfast kick-starts you metabolism, it also burns calories all throughout the day.  After reading the article the person added, the quote I found most useful was, "Many studies have linked eating breakfast to good health, including better memory and concentration," (Hill 2024). This made me look up the claim in another tab to look for more articles about the same topic. On the Better Health Channel, a quote I found educating was, "Breakfast breaks the overnight fasting period. It replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy levels and alertness, while also providing other essential nutrients required for good health," (Laurens 2024). I can agree this claim is true. I personally feel a lot more energized and focused when I have something nutritious in the morning. 

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/breakfast-lose-weight

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/breakfast

Answer 4

Food is necessary to fuel your body and by eating in the morning before beginning your day's activity, you are providing yourself the necessary sustenance for sustained activity. Studies have found correlation between students who don’t eat breakfast and decreased performance in school, and one quote from Better Health states “(Breakfast) replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy levels and alertness.”. An interesting thought is that breakfast, meaning ‘to break the fast of the night’ may not be a regular occurrence in a niche group of peoples lives, for example those who work night shifts and sleep through ‘breakfast time’, would dinner then be the most important meal of the day? Some questions surface, but in general it will depend on the individual and the time and nature of their daily activities in deciding the importance of breakfast. 

Buckingham, C. (2022, March). Why Is Breakfast Considered the Most Important Meal of the Day? GoodRx. https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/breakfast-most-important-meal-day 

Health. (2019). Breakfast. Vic.gov.au. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/breakfast

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Answer 5

The claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is not broadly supported by scientific reality. While there are studies suggesting that consuming a heavy breakfast might be beneficial to weight loss and metabolic well-being, other research finds that eating times are less vital than previously thought. For instance, in a study of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that overweight women who consumed larger amounts of daily calories at breakfast lost more weight compared to individuals with a big dinner, showing potential benefits from eating timing. Conversely, a meta-analysis in BMJ concluded that skipping breakfast did not significantly affect weight loss and may even be associated with some decline in overall energy intake, with reference to differences in response to meal timing. Thus, for some, yes, breakfast is good, yet not necessarily so for everyone's most important meal of the day.

Answer 6

While breakfast is an important meal of the day, it is hard to say if it is the most important. According to Medical News Today, "a long as a person can fit their nutrients in during other meals, breakfast may not be the most critical meal of the day." However, eating breakfast every day has many health benefits. A study published by the National Library of Medicine details how it greatly decreases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and strokes. Lisa O'Neill Hill argues that breakfast "kick-starts your metabolism, helping you burn calories throughout the day." In that sense, it is beneficial. However, aside from burning calories, it is still up to the individual to decide if they want to make breakfast a part of their routine. Therefore, this claim cannot really be true or false because it depends.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-breakfast-really-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day#Evidence-in-support-of-eating-breakfast

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8568444/https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/breakfast-lose-weight

Answer 7

The claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is widely accepted by post people, but some research suggests that it may be overstated. While breakfast provides essential nutrients and energy after waking up, its impact on health is more complex. Some studies show that skipping breakfast doesn't necessarily lead to negative health outcomes, especially if the overall diet remains balanced. However, constantly skipping breakfast may be associated with increased risk of health issues, such as higher blood pressure. Therefore, while breakfast can be considered an important meal, it can't be considered the most important, it varies depending on people's lifestyles and health needs. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5986439/#sec1-nutrients-10-00559

https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/breakfast-most-important-meal-day

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-you-really-need-to-eat-breakfast

Answer 8

This article claims that breakfast is the most important meal by highlighting many different reasons why breakfast is an important meal. The article talks about the fact that many people skip breakfast and says that this is not healthy to do because "breakfast kick-starts your metabolism" it also brings up other reasons that breakfast is an important meal, like how it gives you energy and focus so that you can prepare yourself for a productive day. According to the Mayo Clinic, this second piece is true. The Mayo Clinic states that "Study after study shows that breakfast provides many benefits for children and their learning experience." specifically saying that it helps "Have better brain function, memory, attention and energy." This information definitely proves that breakfast is an important meal, however it says nothing about breakfast being the most important meal.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-you-really-need-to-eat-breakfast

Upon further research, every article I looked at said roughly the same thing as this article and the Mayo Clinic report. There is no doubt that breakfast has many health benefits, and shouldn't be skipped over, however no one seems to be able to prove that breakfast has more value than any other meal. An article I found by Fit On suggested that breakfast is just as important as any meal, and that because they are all equally important, people should focus on eating balanced meals throughout the day because it will fuel body with the nutrients it needs throughout the day rather than trying to say that one meal is more important.

https://fitonapp.com/nutrition/the-most-important-meal-of-the-day/#:~:text=Sure%2C%20eating%20breakfast%20is%20incredibly,it%20needs%20throughout%20the%20day.

Overall, for my final opinion on the truth of this claim, I believe that it has a lot of fact behind it but the claim itself is exaggerated and misleading. Eating breakfast has so many benefits to human health, however it isn't any more important than other meals that are consumed throughout the day.

Answer 9

After looking into a few sources and studies, I can agree that this is a true statement.

An article on BBC answered a lot of questions for me such as the association of breakfast with weight loss. 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181126-is-breakfast-good-for-your-health

According to Fredrik Karpe, professor of metabolic medicine at Oxford Centre claims that breakfast is the key to jumpstarting your metabolism. Without breakfast our body essentially continues the overnight fast that is responsible for recovery.  We use a lot of energy in our sleep and without caloric intake we are more likely to have a slower metabolic rate going into our day, leading to more stored fats and a slower burning of calories. 

According to a study at DMU,  it is shown that people who skimp on breakfast are more likely to overload on carb and fat later in the day. This goes hand in hand with what the BBC article states because BBC says that eating a large breakfast actually makes your hunger craving a lot smaller later in the day. Not to mention that eating close to bedtime doesn't give your body enough time to metabolize it and ends up storing much more unneeded fat.  Obviously weight loss isn't the only determiner of health, in fact it sometimes isn't. However, as presented by BBC, skipping breakfast increases risk of heart disease by 27% and type 2 diabetes by over 20% in both men and woman.  

I know that personally this data is hard to ignore, what do you think?

Article by DMU: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2025/may/research-shows-that-breakfast-really-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day.aspx

Answer 10

The statement that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is often represented by personal opinions, and many people agree with this statement, although not scientifically proven. Although the article does list improved weight control, cardio-metabolic health, and cognitive performance. It's still dependent on whether breakfast is considered and how people interpret it. 

 Eat or skip breakfast? What the science says

This article states that even skipping breakfast does not affect everyone, and it emphasizes that it depends on the person's diet quality and health. Another point to make is that the second article mentions it can improve metabolism and focus on the country. Even in the article, it states that it's unclear if it's the breakfast that is making the improvements or just a healthier lifestyle from the individual. To make sense of the claim that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” it is simply opinion-based because, in current times are we are unable to prove that claim scientifically.