Not having breakfast could make you unhappy, a study says. — Photo: Filepic
If you don't take the time to eat in the morning, you might be interested to hear that this (bad) habit could be making you unhappy, according to new scientific research. In fact, a study of over 150,000 young people in 42 countries has identified a link between breakfast and life satisfaction.
Rightly or wrongly, parents have long been telling their children that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While the many nutritional benefits of breakfast are regularly highlighted by science, it's another benefit altogether that is now the subject of a major study.
A team led by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK and Universidad de Las Americas in Quito, Ecuador suggests a link between regular breakfast consumption and happiness in life. To reach these conclusions, the researchers used data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children 2017-2018 study, comprising 155,451 children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 from 42 countries.
The study authors questioned participants about how often they ate breakfast (ie, a substantial meal consisting of more than just a glass of milk or fruit juice), and then measured their life satisfaction via a subjective rating scale ranging from 0 (poor quality of life) to 10 (excellent quality of life).
Published in the BMC Nutrition Journal, this research reports a higher life satisfaction score among children and adolescents who eat breakfast every day, and a lower life satisfaction score among those who never eat breakfast at all.
The research reports a higher life satisfaction score among children and adolescents who eat breakfast every day. — Filepic
An essential meal for happiness?
In a news release, senior study author Lee Smith, professor of public health at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: "Our study was wide-ranging and found a consistent association between frequency of breakfast and life satisfaction, and there are several potential reasons for this. There have been previous studies that show low mood among adolescents who have not eaten breakfast and also higher instances of anxiety, stress and depression."
However, the research reveals disparities between the countries studied. In Portugal, for example, children who ate breakfast every day had the highest levels of life satisfaction. But children and teenagers in England who ate breakfast every day had the fifth-lowest satisfaction score, behind Romania, Hungary, Germany and Austria. This suggests that other factors, notably socio-economic parameters, could influence the scientists' results.
"Results did show some inconsistencies between countries, which might be influenced by diverse cultures and lifestyles and socio-economic factors. However, despite this, our results show that in all the countries examined, reported life satisfaction is overall higher in those who eat breakfast daily than in those who never eat breakfast," concludes Lee Smith. — AFP Relaxnews
