Meal Timings and It's Affect On Mood
Skipping breakfast, it’s something we’ve all done at times. It may be you think it will help you lose weight, or perhaps you simply ‘don’t have time’, or just not hungry first thing.. whatever the reason it can be a tempting habit which can often be one that sticks over time.
But can skipping breakfast negatively affect your mood?
It’s a common common dieting mistake iI often see. With women thinking that if they skip breakfast it will reduce overall calorie consumption across the day, or they do it for fear of getting hungry later in the day and therefore wanting to 'save' the calories for that time.
However very rarely I have I seen a female do well on this approach, and those that come to me with this approach are not only low on energy and haven't achieved the body comp goals they desire, but also have an unhealthy relationship with food and feel flat / low moods most of the time.
And this is backed by research too - Wilson et al studied Australian women over a 5 year period, splitting eating patterns into three categories; Traditional - so those tho ha their highest food intake at breakfast lunch and dinner, Grazing - so those whose food intake was spread throughout the day, and Late - so those who skipped or delayed breakfast with a higher evening intake.
They found that those who skipped breakfast and consumed more food later in the day / evening were associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing mood disorder both at the start of the study and at the follow up after 5 years. Whereas those who ate distinct meal times were associated with a significantly lower prevalence of mood disorder.
The results indicated that because eating breakfast lowers cortisol levels, by delaying or not eating breakfast and keeping cortisol levels higher mood would be adversely affected. Secondly it suggested a correlation between lower mood and low appetite at breakfast, suggesting those who have low appetite in the morning could indicate low ghrelin which has been shown to have an anti-depressant effect.
I've found that adherence to eating reasonably set meal times - and always eating breakfast has never failed to improve a client's behaviour and relationship with food, energy, body comp and of course improve mood too. I recommend setting a morning routine which includes a meal, and loosely following set meal times throughout the day to help improve mood, body comp, energy and overall quality of life.
Ref: Wilson et al. “An Eating Pattern Characterised by Skipped or Delayed Breakfast Is Associated with Mood Disorders Among an Australian Adult Cohort.” Psychological medicine. 50, no. 16 (2020): 2711–2721.