# "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" -- Nutritional fact or subtle semantic joke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744 "2010-07-06T17:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/1 "2010-07-06T17:56:50Z")
Okay, we’re all familiar with the line “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I believe I was about ten when I first heard it, and my immediate thought was: “Of course! if you never have breakfast, you eventually starve to death.” Because not having breakfast means never breaking your fast, and NEVER breaking your fast effectively means Hunger Strike, followed by inevitable death (I am using the absolutist value of NEVER, here). Huhr, huhr, geddit? But the actors in white coats portraying nutritionists in the breakfast food commercials keep saying the line with a straight face. So, is there something more to the assertion than a play on words? And if so, what is that something? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/2 "2010-07-06T18:02:56Z")
A proper breakfast keeps your blood sugar levels stable, preventing wild swings and uncontrollable hunger towards lunchtime, and it also keeps your metabolism from panicking and storing more food as fat because you’ve starved it for over twelve hours by not eating breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/3 "2010-07-06T18:04:11Z")
Given that only morpheme addicts know ‘breakfast’ is a compound word, I’d say it’s strongly slanted in favor of the second. Additionally, eating a good breakfast is now thought to be very helpful in weight loss, so the second interpretation is again favored: > **[Lose Weight: Eat Breakfast](https://www.webmd.com/obesity/features/lose-weight-eat-breakfast)** > > Studies show making breakfast a daily habit can help you lose weight - and keep it off. > **[Why You May Not Want to Skip Breakfast](https://www.verywellfit.com/is-skipping-breakfast-best-for-weight-loss-3496232)** > > Research is mixed about skipping breakfast. Here's what you need to know about the benefits of breakfast and whether or not you should skip it. [http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN01119](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN01119) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/4 "2010-07-06T18:11:17Z")
You realize, don’t you, that morpheme addicts tend to pick up Danielle Steele novels and become heroine addicts? ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/5 "2010-07-06T18:14:07Z")
I think it all depends on what you’re used to. I know I’ve said this before and I know there are a couple of others on here like this; I only eat an evening meal. Have done this for probably a couple of decades, now. My BP is awesome as are my cholesterol levels. I’m 42, 5 feet 2 and right in line with my weight. Every now and then I’ll have a salad or some veggies for lunch, just to fit in or appease my Mom (I know, I know! :rolleyes:) Oh, and well done, Polycarp! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/6 "2010-07-06T18:20:09Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Because not having breakfast means never breaking your fast I think that’s a wildly outside-the-lines interpretation of the message being delivered. Not having breakfast means not eating a meal typically associated with eating in the morning (and buying those associated foods…). If the only meal you eat every day is a ham sandwich at noon, only the most pedantic people in the world would insist on being as literal as absolutely possible and call it “breakfast”. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/7 "2010-07-06T18:22:10Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > If the only meal you eat every day is a ham sandwich at noon, only the most pedantic people in the world would insist on being as literal as absolutely possible and call it “breakfast”. Really? I never even thought of myself as in the Top Ten… 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/8 "2010-07-06T18:31:31Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > If the only meal you eat every day is a ham sandwich at noon, only the most pedantic people in the world would insist on being as literal as absolutely possible and call it “breakfast”. Yeah. Don’t mess with deixis. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-nutritional-fact-or-subtle-semantic-joke/545744/9 "2010-07-06T19:06:36Z")
I’m slim. I try to eat healthy at least one meal a day. I’m really not hungry for breakfast, although I will eat a snack around 10 AM. I let my stomach decide what it wants (within reason.)