DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST

SKIPPING breakfast raises your risk of developing diabetes by a third, research shows. Those who miss their morning meal are 33 per cent more likely to have type 2 diabetes, according to analysis of data from nearly 100,000 people.

For someone who avoids breakfast four times a week, the risk is 55 per cent greater than it is for those who always eat it. People who do not eat breakfast are more likely to snack later in the day.Researchers pooled the results of six previous studies exploring the impact of diet on diabetes — with a total of 96,000 participants. Study leader Dr Sabrina Schlesinger, of the German Diabetes Centre in Düsseldorf, said 30 per cent of people around the world are thought to miss breakfast. Those who are overweight are more likely to miss their morning meal, because they incorrectly believe this will reduce their overall calorie intake. Scientists initially feared this may have skewed the results, because overweight people are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. But the team found that even when they took body mass into account, people of any weight were still 22 per cent more likely to develop diabetes if they missed out on breakfast.

Dr Schlesinger, whose findings are published in the Journal of Nutrition, said: ‘We believe people who miss breakfast have more snacks during the day.

‘They also might have a big lunch — creating a big glucose and insulin spike, which is not good for the metabolism and increases type 2 diabetes risk.’