Female breakfast skippers display a disrupted cortisol rhythm and elevated blood pressure
Publication Date
March 2015
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Physiology & Behavior
Volume
140
DOI
10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.12.044
First Page
215
Last Page
221
Abstract
Chronic stress and over-activity in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis may link breakfast skipping and poor cardiometabolic health. Missing the first major meal of the day in rodents prolongs elevated circulating corticosterone at a time when it's normally decreasing. To extend these findings to humans, we hypothesized that habitual breakfast skippers would display a similar pattern of circulating cortisol and alterations in meal and stress-induced cortisol reactions. Normal weight to obese women aged 18–45 years old who were strictly defined as either breakfast skippers (n = 30) or breakfast eaters (n = 35) were invited to participate in our study. Normal breakfast habits were maintained for the entire study period and each participant attended 4 lab visits. Over the first 2 lab visits, body composition, fasting clinical chemistries, and self-reports of chronic stress were assessed. On each of 2 additional days (lab visits 3 and 4), salivary free cortisol was measured at home upon waking and at bedtime, and in the lab in response to a standard lunch, ad libitum afternoon snack buffet, and stress and control (relaxation) tasks. The order of the control and stress test visits was randomized. While body weight, body composition, HOMA-IR, total and HDL cholesterol did not statistically differ (p > 0.05), both diastolic and systolic blood pressure was elevated (p < 0.01) and LDL cholesterol was lower (p = 0.04) in the breakfast skipper group. Compared to the breakfast eaters and on the control task visit only, breakfast skippers had higher circulating cortisol from arrival to midafternoon (p < 0.01) and during the snack buffet (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the lunch-induced cortisol reaction was larger in the ‘skippers’ (p = 0.03). On both stress and control visit days, the diurnal cortisol amplitude was significantly (p = 0.02) blunted in breakfast skippers. Self-reports of chronic stress did not differ between the groups. These data indicate that habitually skipping breakfast is associated with stress-independent over-activity in the HPA axis which, if prolonged, may increase risk (e.g., hypertension) for cardiometabolic disease in some people.
Keywords
Cortisol, Breakfast skipping, Blood pressure, Cardiometabolic health
Recommended Citation
Megan Witbracht, Nancy Keim, Shavawn Forester, Adrianne Widaman, and Kevin Laugero. "Female breakfast skippers display a disrupted cortisol rhythm and elevated blood pressure" Physiology & Behavior (2015): 215-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.12.044
Comments
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