Is breakfast really the most important meal for fat cells?

An article published in the Journal of Physiology, the habit of eating breakfast for a long time will affect the activity of genes involved in fat metabolism in our body, which in turn will affect fat cells and increase their sugar intake. This mechanism may reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers from Bath University and the University of Nottingham have found that fat tissue of obese patients is relatively less sensitive to insulin than people who are leaner. Importantly, this trend is positively correlated with people’s body fat levels.

Over a six-week period, researchers tested 49 volunteers, 29 of whom were healthy and 20 were obese. Volunteers were divided into two groups, one had breakfast before 11 o’clock, and the other remained hungry until noon. In the former group, volunteers were required to consume at least 700 calories of food within two hours after waking up, while the fasting group was required to be unable to consume any energy until noon.

During the experiment, the researchers tested volunteers’ metabolic levels, body composition, appetite response, and levels of metabolic and cardiovascular health-related indicators. In addition, they tested the expression levels of 44 fat-related genes in volunteers and studied the ability of fat cells to take up glucose in response to insulin stimulation.

The lead author of the study, Javier Gonzalez, said that the study also revealed more clearly the characteristics of fat cells in response to daily diets, so we can more accurately target these internal mechanisms for the treatment of obesity-related diseases. “Because the participants consumed high-fiber breakfast, we cannot rule out the effect of breakfast content on fat cell metabolism, and further research is needed to address this problem.”

The lead author of the study, Javier Gonzalez, said that the study also revealed more clearly the characteristics of fat cells in response to daily diets, so we can more accurately target these internal mechanisms for the treatment of obesity-related diseases. “Because the participants consume high-fiber breakfast, we cannot rule out the effect of breakfast content on fat cell metabolism, and we need to study this issue.”