Experts Reveal: Which meal is best to skip?

October 7, 2025 •

5 min read

According to a 2022 study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, regular meal skipping is associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. This highlights a crucial consideration for anyone asking the question: Which meal is best to skip? While intermittent fasting has popularized the idea, the effects depend on timing, and experts generally caution against the practice due to potential negative health consequences.

Quick Summary

An in-depth look at the science behind meal skipping, comparing the metabolic effects and diet quality changes associated with skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It examines how meal timing affects hormones, metabolism, and nutrient intake, providing key information on the health risks involved and the importance of a sustainable, balanced eating pattern.

Key Points

Risks Outweigh Benefits: Experts caution that the dangers of regular meal skipping, such as metabolic slowdown and nutrient deficiencies, typically outweigh any potential short-term gains.
Metabolic Impact: Skipping any meal can disrupt metabolism, leading to a slower calorie-burning rate and a higher tendency to store fat.
Overeating Risk: Going long periods without food increases hunger hormones, making you more likely to overeat and choose unhealthy foods at the next meal.
Breakfast Skippers Beware: Studies have linked skipping breakfast to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality and a greater negative impact on overall diet quality.
Dinner Skipping Can Backfire: While some approaches favor skipping dinner, it can lead to increased nighttime cravings and has been associated with long-term weight gain.
Embrace Regular, Balanced Meals: For sustainable health and weight management, a consistent pattern of balanced meals and snacks is a much safer and more effective strategy than eliminating meals.

The Flawed Premise of Meal Skipping

For decades, the standard nutritional advice has centered around three balanced meals a day. However, busy modern lifestyles and the rise of intermittent fasting have led many to consider skipping a meal. The logic often seems simple: fewer meals equal fewer calories and weight loss. But this thinking overlooks the complex ways our bodies react to food deprivation, and the potential downsides often outweigh the perceived benefits.

Skipping meals can trigger a cascade of negative physiological responses. For instance, when you go too long without eating, your body produces more cortisol, the 'stress hormone', which can lead to anxiety, irritability, and poor concentration. It can also dysregulate hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin, causing intense cravings and overeating at the next meal. The body, sensing a period of 'famine', may also slow down its metabolic rate to conserve energy, making weight loss more challenging in the long run.

The Risks Associated with Meal Skipping

Before comparing the impacts of skipping specific meals, it's crucial to understand the overarching risks associated with the practice as a whole. Regular meal skipping is not a benign activity; it has been linked to significant health concerns, particularly when done frequently.

Nutrient Deficiencies: Skipping any meal means missing out on an opportunity to consume essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein. Consistently missing meals can lead to nutrient gaps that affect overall health and well-being.
Metabolic Disruption: While short-term fasting might have some metabolic effects, habitual meal skipping can slow down your metabolism, causing the body to hold onto fat. This is the opposite of the desired effect for many who skip meals for weight loss.
Increased Mortality Risk: A large-scale prospective study of US adults found that eating just one meal per day is associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. This evidence strongly suggests that regular meal skipping is a dangerous strategy.
Negative Impact on Mental Health: Hormonal imbalances caused by skipping meals can lead to mood swings, anxiety, and depression. A 2022 systematic review noted a correlation between skipping breakfast and higher risks of depression and anxiety.
Disordered Eating: Using meal skipping as a primary weight loss tactic can contribute to an unhealthy relationship with food and increase the risk of developing an eating disorder.

Comparing the Impacts of Skipping Specific Meals

Research has explored the different physiological effects of skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner. While the overall conclusion is that regular meal skipping is unhealthy, some subtle differences exist based on the meal and the timing.

Skipping Breakfast

Historically dubbed the 'most important meal of the day', breakfast provides the initial fuel for your metabolism after an overnight fast. Some proponents of intermittent fasting intentionally skip it to extend their fasting window.

Potential Effects of Skipping Breakfast:

Increased Hunger: Skipping breakfast can lead to heightened hunger later in the day and a greater chance of making poorer, high-sugar food choices at lunch and dinner.
Blood Sugar Spikes: A 2017 study found that breakfast skipping led to higher postprandial glucose and insulin concentrations after lunch compared to skipping dinner.
Higher CVD Mortality Risk: Several studies have linked skipping breakfast specifically to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Lower Diet Quality: USDA data shows skipping breakfast or lunch has a larger negative impact on overall diet quality than skipping dinner.

Skipping Lunch

Lunch is often the most socially flexible meal and can be skipped during busy workdays. Its impact is a mix of the effects of skipping breakfast and dinner.

Potential Effects of Skipping Lunch:

Reduced Diet Quality: Like breakfast, skipping lunch significantly lowers the overall diet quality for the day, impacting component scores for vegetables, seafood, and plant proteins.
Compensatory Eating: After skipping lunch, individuals are likely to consume more calories at dinner.
Energy Crashes: Missing a midday meal can lead to energy dips and poor concentration during the afternoon.

Skipping Dinner

Skipping dinner is sometimes favored as it aligns with the body's natural circadian rhythm, suggesting it might improve metabolic function and sleep. However, this strategy is not without drawbacks.

Potential Effects of Skipping Dinner:

Nighttime Cravings: This approach can lead to more intense nighttime food cravings and potential sleep disruption.
Social Inconvenience: Missing the evening meal can be socially isolating, as it is often a time for family or social gatherings.
Less Impact on Diet Quality: While it does reduce overall diet quality, some data suggests skipping dinner has a lesser negative impact compared to skipping breakfast or lunch.
Predictor of Weight Gain: One study found that skipping dinner was the biggest predictor of weight gain, contradicting the belief that it is an easy path to weight loss.

Which Meal is Best to Skip? A Comparative Summary


Feature	Skipping Breakfast	Skipping Lunch	Skipping Dinner
Diet Quality Impact	High negative impact (fruits, whole grains, dairy)	High negative impact (vegetables, protein, fruit)	Lower negative impact than breakfast/lunch
Metabolic Effects	Higher postprandial glucose/insulin spikes at next meal	Potential energy crashes and sluggish digestion	May align with circadian rhythm, potentially boosting metabolism
Risk of Overeating	High, often leads to overindulging later in the day	High, leading to larger portion sizes at dinner	Can cause intense nighttime cravings and snacking
Weight Loss Effectiveness	Associated with obesity and poor weight management	Often results in overeating, negating calorie deficit	Associated with weight gain over time
Nutrient Intake	Risk of missing important morning nutrients	Missed opportunity for midday nutrient intake	Risk of nutrient gaps depending on daily intake
Energy & Mood	May cause 'hanger', irritability, and anxiety	Can lead to afternoon fatigue and reduced focus	Can cause evening energy crashes and sleep disruption

The Healthier Approach: Balanced, Regular Meals

Given the evidence, the premise that one meal is 'best' to skip is largely unfounded and misleading. The negative health consequences—including increased mortality, metabolic slowdown, and potential for disordered eating—are significant regardless of which meal is missed. Instead of focusing on which meal to eliminate, a more sustainable and healthier approach is to focus on a balanced, consistent eating pattern.

Prioritize Nutrient-Dense Foods: Focus on eating whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, across your meals.
Listen to Your Body's Cues: Practice mindful and intuitive eating, paying attention to hunger and fullness signals rather than external, rigid rules.
Plan Ahead: If a busy schedule makes eating difficult, prepare healthy snacks or smaller meals in advance to avoid long gaps between eating.
Consider Your Circadian Rhythm: While not an excuse to skip meals, eating a lighter, earlier dinner can align with your body's natural rhythms and improve sleep and digestion for some.
Consult a Professional: A registered dietitian can help you determine the best eating schedule and nutrient requirements for your individual lifestyle and health needs.

Conclusion

While intermittent fasting and other trends have popularized the idea of skipping meals, the scientific consensus strongly advises against it as a regular practice. Instead of asking which meal is best to skip, a more productive and health-conscious approach is to embrace regular, balanced eating that provides consistent nourishment. The potential health risks, from nutrient deficiencies and metabolic slowdown to increased mortality, far outweigh any short-term benefits. Prioritizing mindful eating, planning ahead, and listening to your body's natural hunger cues is the safest and most effective strategy for long-term health and sustainable weight management.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, regularly skipping meals is not a healthy or effective weight-loss strategy. While it may create a temporary calorie deficit, it can lead to a slower metabolism, nutrient deficiencies, and overeating later in the day, often resulting in weight gain.

When you skip meals, your body can go into 'starvation mode,' causing your metabolism to slow down to conserve energy. This makes it harder to burn calories efficiently and can be counterproductive for weight loss.

Skipping dinner can disrupt your sleep and cause nighttime cravings, which may lead to unhealthy snacking. While some studies suggest it has a lesser impact on diet quality than skipping breakfast, it is not a sustainable or recommended practice for long-term health.

Yes, skipping breakfast is linked to poorer diet quality, a higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality, and can lead to blood sugar spikes after your next meal, potentially increasing inflammation over time.

Yes, going too long without food can cause blood sugar dips, triggering a stress response and increasing cortisol production. This can lead to irritability, mood swings, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating.

A healthier alternative is to focus on regular, balanced meals and snacks throughout the day, filled with nutrient-dense foods like protein, fruits, and vegetables. Listening to your body's hunger cues is also key.

While occasional meal skipping due to a busy schedule or lack of appetite is unlikely to cause serious harm for healthy individuals, it shouldn't become a habit. The long-term effects of frequent meal skipping are concerning and should be avoided.

Skipping a meal means missing a chance to consume essential nutrients. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies over time, as your remaining meals may not adequately compensate for the missed vitamins, minerals, and fiber.