HanoiHolding the examination results in her hand, Thuy, 30 years old, was depressed because she had a “combo” of severe digestive diseases, due to her habit of combining breakfast and lunch into one.
Thuy, from Dong Da, has been accustomed to combining breakfast into lunch for many years, due to her habit of waking up late. As an information technology worker, she “holds” many part-time jobs, often staying up until three in the morning. The next day, she woke up close to work, went to the company to sit in a meeting, handle tasks, looked at the clock and it was almost noon, so she “strained” and waited until 11:30 to go down to the cafeteria to eat with her colleagues.
For about three months now, the female employee has had epigastric pain, belching, heartburn, reflux, loss of appetite, pale skin, and many sleepless nights. She went to the Medical University Hospital for a check-up and was diagnosed with gastritis, HP, and reflux due to often staying up late and having erratic activities.
The habit of reckless eating also caused Dung, 29 years old, to lose 6 kg in a month, only 47 kg. Every day, she stays up selling products online and wrapping packages until 2 a.m., then sleeps until 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. the next day. When she wakes up, she has to drink a cup of coffee to calm her mind and combine breakfast into lunch.
“Because I eat breakfast late, I have to drink coffee to regain energy, then wait until noon to eat breakfast,” Dung said.
In addition, Dung skips breakfast to lose weight according to the “intermittent fasting” regimen. A year ago, she gained 18 kg due to giving birth, her body was bloated, “like a moving lump of fat”. She often fasts from 6pm the previous day to 12 noon the next day to burn fat and lose weight, but her body is always tired and unable to concentrate on work.
Dung usually wakes up at 10am, then has breakfast – also lunch of the day. Image: Character provided
Doctor Huynh Tan Vu, Faculty of Traditional Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said there are no specific statistics, but the habit of “eating breakfast at noon” is gradually becoming popular, focusing on the 25-40 age group. age, office workers, freelancers… Skipping breakfast can cause many negative health effects for some people.
According to doctors, the body needs 2,000 – 2,500 calories every day, of which breakfast accounts for 400 – 500 calories, helping to re-energize after a long sleep. For people who consider breakfast the main meal, limiting or skipping breakfast can help them lose weight. In cases where lunch or dinner is considered important, skipping breakfast may not be effective and may even cause weight gain because you easily feel hungry and eat uncontrollably.
“Eating late or not eating breakfast can cause the body to not restore glycogen reserves (the body’s role as an energy reserve) overnight, leading to hypoglycemia,” the doctor said. Skipping breakfast also makes people tired, anxious, restless, and unable to concentrate at work or study.
Many people who do not eat breakfast and then consume large amounts of food at noon are susceptible to digestive problems such as gastric reflux or stomach pain, stomach ulcers; Stimulating the digestive system causes changes in daily toilet habits, causing diarrhea, nausea or constipation.
Similarly, doctor Nguyen Trong Hung, Head of the Department of Adult Nutrition Consulting, National Institute of Nutrition, said many people consider breakfast just an extra so they often skip it. In principle, after finishing dinner, overnight until 6 a.m. the next morning, there are about 10-12 hours of “empty” stomach, not to mention having to prepare energy for a whole new working day, so it needs to be fed. energy supplement.
If you skip breakfast, the body has no energy supply and is forced to mobilize a reserve amount of sugar and protein, accelerating the aging process. Meanwhile, in the evening, people are less active but consume a lot of food, which will cause more and more fat to accumulate, leading to overweight – obesity.
Research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2022, suggests that eating just one meal a day increases the risk of death in Americans aged 40 and older. Skipping breakfast or dinner increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. People who eat two or three meals less than 4.5 hours apart have higher all-cause mortality rates.
The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology also said that people who skip breakfast and eat dinner late are 4-5 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than people who do not have this habit. Skipping breakfast can increase cortisol levels, potentially leading to increased food cravings and poor sleep quality.
Breakfast should be eaten before 8am, should not be combined into lunch. Photo: Verywellhealth
Experts recommend that people maintain a balanced and nutritious diet, eat enough meals and on time, and control portion sizes. You should eat breakfast before 8am, or 30 minutes to an hour after waking up. Breakfast needs to be complete and nutritionally balanced, including the day’s protein, starch, protein, fat, fruits and vegetables.
Limit sugar and processed foods. Control the amount of grease. Limit breakfast with pastries, lots of sugar, or reuse leftovers.
“Absolutely do not starve, just reduce high-energy foods such as fat, fried, roasted, stir-fried dishes, fatty meat, and sweets,” Dr. Vu advised.
*Character names have been changed