CapeTalk Highlights

If your aim is to shed a few kilos, it turns out breakfast isn't the most important meal of the day after all.

A new study has concluded that breakfast won’t help you lose weight.

In fact, the research suggests that ditching breakfast completely would be better for your waistline.

Read: 7 expert tips on how to make your breakfast healthier

The study, which was published in the British Medical Journal, found that those who eat breakfast consume more calories and gain more weight than those who skip the meal.

However, the research shows that regularly eating a healthy breakfast helps kids and young people with brain development.

Nutritional specialist Andrea du Plessis has cautioned that the study focuses on the effects of breakfast on weight.

The reason breakfast was being recommended was not particularly for weight loss.

— Andrea du Plessis, Registered dietician - Vital Health Foods

She encourages personalised nutrition that fits together with an individual's lifestyle and preferences.

People's bodies differ... Listen to your body. This article is pointing to recommendations for weight loss.

— Andrea du Plessis, Registered dietician - Vital Health Foods

Also read: Up your fibre intake if you want to live longer, study suggests

According to du Plessis, it's not how or when you eat, but what you eat that's important.

She adds that lifestyle, exercise and other activities are as important as diet.

Listen to the expert nutritional advice: