Breakfast is the most important meal of the day - it’s a great start， it’s good for you， it stops you snacking， boosts metabolism and keeps you thin。

Well， that’s what we’ve all been told。

But some scientists argue this is all a myth - and that just because we keep repeating it doesn’t make it true。

So should we bother with breakfast？

Studies repeatedly show that skipping breakfast is more common in people who are overweight or obese。

But this could be a dangerous trap - when the number of ice cream sales goes up so does the number of people getting sunburn。 It doesn’t mean ice-cream is causing sunburn。

This association might be down to something special about brekkie - or maybe the type of people who eat it are generally more active， have a better overall diet or try to lead healthier lives。

Despite advocating breakfast as part of a healthy lifestyle， a report by the UK’s National Obesity Observatory concluded that “it is not clear whether there is a causal relationship with Body Mass Index (weight) or whether breakfast is merely a marker for other lifestyle factors that can contribute to healthy body weight”。

Breakfast on trial

The few clinical trials that have actively altered people’s eating habits also showed no impact on waistlines。

The biggest， published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition， told 300 overweight or obese people to skip or eat breakfast for four months。

There was absolutely no difference whatsoever in the amount of weight-loss， said Prof David Allison， who conducted that trial at the University of Alabama。“With respect to weight， at least in adults， it looks like we’re leaning towards it [breakfast] being a myth。”

He says people who are skipping breakfast are probably just trying to control their own weight。

And one danger for skippers who start having breakfast is it could lead to weight gain， if they don’t eat less later in the day。

So is government advice plain wrong？

In Prof Allison’s opinion： “If they are advising it [breakfast] for weight control then at this point it is not a justified recommendation。”

Dr Alison Tedstone is from one of the many organisations around the world that tells us breakfast is a good thing， and she points to studies showing people who skip breakfast tend to be bigger， which we already know is an association。

But Dr Tedstone， chief nutritionist at Public Health England， agrees that the “evidence is by no means conclusive on having breakfast”。

However， she says it is the easiest meal of the day to get right， that skipping it risks snacking on something unhealthy later on and that it can be a struggle to get the right balance of nutrients without starting the day well。