In a video published on his Instagram account, Dr Jean-Michel Cohen questions the idea of breakfast as an essential meal. In adults, the answer is nuanced: breakfast is not a biological obligation for all adultsbut it can remain very useful depending on habits, age and health context.
Breakfast: a useful habit, not a universal rule
In his video, Dr Jean-Michel COHEN emphasizes a central idea: not everyone needs to organize their eating day in the same way.
“The distribution of food throughout the day is an individual matter.”
This is also what the available data in adults suggests: eating breakfast has not been shown to be essential, and skipping it is not, in itself, a validated strategy for losing weight. A meta-analysis published in the
BMJ in 2019 concludes that there is no solid evidence showing that breakfast would promote weight loss or that its absence would automatically lead to weight gain.
In other words, the overall balance of the diet matters more than absolutely eating when you wake up. The quality of meals, the quantities over the day, the regularity that suits you and your level of activity weigh more heavily than a single schedule imposed on everyone.
Be careful, however, not to reverse the message: it is not a question of saying that skipping breakfast would be better, nor of
make breakfast a slimming method. Observational studies on eating habits can also be influenced by other factors: socio-economic level, pace of life, sleep, overall diet quality. Association therefore does not mean causality.
To explore this idea further, True Medical also reminds us that breakfast is not necessarily the most important meal of the day.
How to find the eating rhythm that suits you
The right benchmark is not a rigid rule, but your actual functioning. The account Dr Jean-Michel Cohen emphasizes that people who are not used to eating in the morning are not necessarily penalized by this lack of food intake. Worded carefully: for a healthy adult who is not hungry in the morning and who eats enough and correctly afterwards, not eating breakfast is not necessarily problematic.
Conversely, if you have always had breakfast, suddenly cutting it out can be uncomfortable: early hunger, desire to snack, feeling sluggish. This does not prove a systematic intellectual decline, but it does indicate that your body may be accustomed to a different rhythm.
- If you are not hungry in the morningyou can observe if your lunch and dinner remain balanced, without excessive compensation.
- If you wake up hungrybreakfast can help you start the day more comfortably.
- If you eat mainly automaticallyinstead test a gradual adjustment of schedules, without imposing a restriction on yourself.
- If your mornings are long or very activea morning intake may be more suitable than a long fast.
The objective is therefore to adapt your eating schedule to your needs, without making people feel guilty who do not eat when they wake up and without presenting the absence of breakfast as an ideal. If you like this meal, it can absolutely find its place: the challenge is then to compose a balanced breakfast according to your appetite.
Finally, caution is necessary for certain situations: diabetes treated with certain medications, chronic illness, meal-related treatment, malnutrition or history of eating disorders. In these cases, do not skip or postpone a meal without medical advice.
With children, the message must remain different
The expert clearly distinguishes adults from children. On this point, the nuance is important: children and adolescents are not in the same situation. French recommendations organize their meals around breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Health Insurance reminds that breakfast provides energy for the morning, as part of a structured eating day.
It is not a question of forcing a child beyond his feelings, but of not trivializing the fact of regularly leaving on an empty stomach, especially when the morning is long. If a child is not hungry when he wakes up, it is better to find a simple solution with him and his parents, while maintaining a balance, rather than setting up an automatic snack for everyone, including those who have already eaten.
The good compromise can be summed up in one sentence: in healthy adults, breakfast is an option to be adjusted; in children, it is important to encourage food intake, without unnecessary pressure but with attention.