As outlined in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, states that skipping breakfast is bad for the health as it will trigger weight gain. The conventional wisdom about eating breakfast will help a person lose weight contradicts in a recent study. And as have been said by scientists that skipping breakfast can actually make a person gain weight. However, in a recent study stated that the whole "breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

The researchers in Columbia University studied 36 overweight participants over four weeks - where some participants were eating high-fiber breakfast (oatmeal), others have breakfast with minimal fiber (frosted corn flakes), and some have no breakfast at all. And the result, people that did not have breakfast lost weight, while the other two groups that have breakfast did not lose weight.

The researchers stated in the study, "In overweight individuals, skipping breakfast daily for four weeks leads to a reduction in body weight."

The researchers in Columbia University proposed that, though skipping breakfast may cause a person to eat more later in the day, but the body of a person is unable to make up for the calories from the missing meal.

The advisory committee of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines stated, "Modest evidence suggests that children who do not eat breakfast are at increased risk of overweight and obesity," "The evidence is stronger for adolescents." As for adults, the evidence was described as "inconsistent." the advisory committee also said, "Eat a nutrient-dense breakfast," "Not eating breakfast has been associated with excess body weight, especially among children and adolescents. Consuming breakfast also has been associated with weight loss and weight loss maintenance."

When a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services , Angela Colson, was asked how the government could recommend daily breakfast as a means of losing weight given the contrary evidence, Angela Colson did not answer directly, but instead she pointed the introduction of the Dietary Guidelines that in broad terms, lists the types of evidence that were taken into consideration.