Is Mid-morning Breakfast as Healthy as Early-morning Breakfast for Blood Sugar Control in Adolescent Girls?

Repeated, elevated levels of glucose (sugar) within the blood after eating can lead to type 2 diabetes. In adults, eating breakfast lowers blood glucose responses to subsequent meals when compared with skipping breakfast. Yet, adolescent girls may respond differently due to differences in how their bodies use energy. This is important because around 80% of the United Kingdom (UK) adolescent girls skip breakfast. As common reasons for skipping breakfast in adolescent girls are 'lack of time' and 'not hungry' in the morning, eating breakfast during the mid-morning may be an attractive option for them. This project will be the first to compare the impact of eating breakfast in the early morning and mid-morning with skipping breakfast on subsequent blood glucose levels in adolescent girls who usually skip breakfast. The findings will inform recommendations tailored to an 'at risk' and under-researched population for type 2 diabetes prevention, which is more effective than a cure.