Eating Breakfast Champions Good Health

WEDNESDAY, March 6, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- It turns out your Mom knew a thing or two about good health when she made you eat your breakfast and told you not to smoke or drink.

One of two new studies released today by a group of Welsh researchers shows those who skip breakfast are far more likely to catch colds. Their second study found those who get colds are more likely to smoke and drink, and smokers who face stress are far more likely to get sick than non-smokers are.

Lifestyle choices can influence your susceptibility to colds and flu, as well as how much you suffer with symptoms when you get sick, says study author Andy Smith, a professor at the University of Cardiff in Wales.

For New York nutritionist Samantha Heller, the findings make sense.

"Past research has shown that people who eat breakfast are healthier in general, so that translates into getting sick less," says Heller, a registered dietician at New York University Medical Center.

"Both smoking and chronic alcohol intake have their own set of immune-compromising issues," Heller adds. Smoking impairs the immune system, while alcoholism is a major cause of malnutrition.

Put it all together, she says, and it's not hard to see why the researchers discovered what they did.

In addition to the findings about why you get sick, researchers also found you should take time off from work when illness hits because most people don't perform well when they're under the weather.

The men and women in the study reported being in a bad mood, having slower response times to daily tasks, and having difficulty concentrating while they were sick.

Heller says this finding is the least surprising of all.

"It's difficult for anyone to feel festive and focused when they feel ill," she says.

The first study involved 100 people from the local college community. Each was asked to keep a diary for 10 weeks, recording any symptoms of illness and any corresponding problems involving either memory or attention.

After 10 weeks, the group was divided into two categories -- those who reported a single illness and those who reported multiple illnesses.

The group was then asked to answer a series of questions concerning general lifestyle habits, as well as life events in the year preceding the study. It was then that researchers were able to draw the first of their conclusions: Those who were hit most often by sickness were also less likely to eat breakfast.

Moreover, those who developed multiple illnesses were also more likely to have endured a negative life event in the previous 12 months, such as loss of a job or a family death.

The diaries revealed that those men and women who reported being sick had more bad moods, as well as a reduced ability to concentrate or perform at their usual level. Smith says the severity of the symptoms didn't matter -- those who were slightly under the weather reported the same reduced functioning as those who were much more ill.

In the second study, 498 healthy students answered a series of questions concerning a variety of lifestyle habits, including smoking and drinking. They were then asked to return to the study center if they developed an upper respiratory infection, and to do so within 96 hours after symptoms first appeared.

Of that group, 188 developed colds, and they were the same students who reported they were more likely to smoke and drink.

In addition, Smith says the students who smoke, drank and experienced stress in their lives were more likely to get sick than non-smokers and non-drinkers who experienced stress.

This, researchers say, shows smoking and drinking can influence the impact of stress on our health.

"It is also a well-known clinical fact that stress, over time, can compromise the immune system," Heller says.

The Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain will present the findings during its annual Science Week from March 8-17.

What To Do

For the latest news on what causes colds and flu, check out CNN's Cold and Flu Report.

To learn more about how breakfast can encourage good health, visit Health Journal from the University of California at Davis.

For more information on stress and alcohol, check out About.com .