“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and other such maxims reflect a moral and health-related halo surrounding breakfast. Breakfast is purported to instill numerous health benefits to those who consume it, not the least of which is weight loss and weight maintenance. However, the scientific literature does not necessarily support a causative role between skipping breakfast and obesity. Yet, information sources including blogs, popular health icons, and government agencies have made statements that eating breakfast will help control weight. In our new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, we quantify ways in which the scientific community may be contributing to these premature causal claims.
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