Children who eat a healthy breakfast every day have a lower risk of developing diabetes, according to a study of more than 4,000 children.
The 9 and 10-year-olds in London, Birmingham and Leicester were asked about their diets and how often they ate breakfast. While 85 per cent of children ate breakfast every day or most days, 9 per cent ate it only on some days and 6 per cent rarely.
Type 2 diabetes, the most common type of the disease, occurs when blood sugar control fails because the fat and muscle cells that normally respond to insulin become insulin resistant.
Those children who ate breakfast infrequently had higher fasting insulin levels and higher insulin resistance. Children who ate a high-fibre, cereal breakfast had lower insulin resistance than those eating other types of food.
The children were measured for diabetes risk markers using blood tests and by looking at their body compositions.
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The researchers, from St George’s, University of London, found that “the association between eating breakfast and having a favourable type 2 diabetes risk profile remained after allowing for differences in socioeconomic status, physical activity levels and body fat”.