By Giwa SHILE
an Abuja based medical practitioner, Dr Okezie Emenike, says patients who skip breafast have increased risk of developing life threatnening diseases.
Emenike made this known on Friday in Abuja.
The medical doctor said that one of the worst things about skipping breakfast was that it lowers a patient’s metabolism and increases the chances of developing life threatnening diseases such as cancer and diabetes, among others.
Emenike described metabolism as the body’s ability to burn calories which is often referred to as body’s furnace, adding that eating regularly helps to keep the ‘fire burning’ and skipping breakfast would essentially let the ‘fire’ burn out.
He noted that skipping meals and without refuelling the body for a number of hours could lower an individual’s blood sugar levels which can lead to hypoglycaemia.
He explained that hypoglycaemia occurs when the amount of sugar (or glucose) in the blood drops below 4.0mmol (this is a measurement used by medical professionals to measure the amount of glucose in the blood).
According to him, it is particularly bad to skip breakfast as the body has been fasting all night and breakfast helps to kick start the metabolism and provides a patient with energy for the day ahead.
“By regularly skipping morning meals you are more susceptible to weight gain and at an increased risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol
“Keeping your metabolism firing is essential for burning fat and calories when trying to lose weight.
“Regular eating of healthy meals will help to prevent development of low blood sugar levels and also boost metabolism as well as helps maintain good blood sugar levels which is very beneficial to achieving weight loss.
“Skipping breakfast lowers the metabolism and the ability to burn fat and calories and it also hampers weight loss efforts.
“Small, regular meals, starting with breakfast is a great way to fire up your metabolism and keep your weight loss on track,” he said.
Emenike also explained that regular skipping of breakfast lowers concentration levels and memory to coordinate which makes it hard for a patient to perform at best.
He further stated that skipping of breakfast and not providing the body with any fuel could deprive the body of energy.
He noted that regular skipping of morning meals made a patient more susceptible to weight gain and an increased risk of atherosclerosis development, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol.
Emenike , therefore , emphasied the need to eat a certain amount of calories a day to ensure the body had enough energy saying that it helped the body provide enough fuel to function properly.
He noted that side effects of not eating breakfast is that by mid-morning a patient would likely fill up on high fat, high sugar snacks with no nutritional value.
Emenike , however, urged patients to eat healthy breakfast, adding that it helps control cravings and keep the body full and satisfied as well as keep the metabolism burning which help maintain a healthy weight.
