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1 in 3 Adults Miss Out on Vital Breakfast

People eat breakfast at a fast food restaurant in Seoul.

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About one in every three Korean adults skip breakfast, a survey suggests.

The Chosun Ilbo polled 3,000 people in their 20s to 50s, and 33.6 percent said they have breakfast only twice a week or less, while 43.5 percent eat it five times a week or more.

The most common reason why they skip breakfast is because it has become a habit (53.7 percent). Some 25.7 percent said that they do not have time, and 15.3 percent cannot be bothered to prepare a meal in the morning.

A number of studies find that skipping breakfast is detrimental to health in many ways. Breakfast jumpstarts your brain and boosts concentration. It also helps prevent chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

"As we need solid energy to jumpstart our body in the morning, it is important to have breakfast", said Prof. Park Jong-dae at Hanyang University. "We need to make it a habit to eat breakfast from childhood".

Glucose, the fuel for the brain, is generally used up within 12 hours after a meal. As glucose intake from dinner the previous night has gone by next morning, skipping breakfast can harm the brain. "Skipping breakfast means you have insufficient energy for the brain, leading to loss of concentration", said Prof. Kang Jae-heon at Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital. "You also feel easily tired and annoyed and it can cause a headache".

Having breakfast is particularly important for adolescents. "Skipping breakfast can slow brain development. They find it hard to concentrate in class and feel dissatisfied and even depressed", said a pediatrician.

Even on a diet it is recommended to have breakfast. In another survey of 11,800 people aged between 20 and 64 by a research team led by Prof. Chung Sang-jin at Kookmin University, those who skipped breakfast showed a 13 percent higher obesity rate than those who ate breakfast with rice and more than three side dishes, and displayed a 20 percent higher waist to hip ratio. They also were 20 percent more susceptible to metabolic syndrome.

If people skip a meal or eat less than usual, the body increases the absorption of sugar and the liver produces more cholesterol, said Prof. Park Min-sun at Seoul National University Hospital. "Skipping breakfast leads to a lack of calories, which in turn results in more fat saved in the body, so it doesn't actually help lose weight".

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