News that Hamilton restaurant Soul Food Express had seen a dip in breakfast sales showed that people were making the wrong lifestyle choices, according Sarah Burrows and Sarah McKittrick of the Diabetes Resource Centre.

"That is the biggest mistake in the world!" said Mrs. Burrows, the organisation's programme manager.

"Skipping breakfast just sabotages weight loss," said Mrs. McKittrick, a clinical dietician. "It actually slows your metabolism. People need to understand that digestion is a mechanical function of the body, the very act of digestion burns energy, it burns calories," she said.

The women agreed that skipping breakfast to lose weight was a common mistake people made, and they pointed out that research has proved that most people actually become more hungry and end up eating more, than if they had stuck with a simple healthy breakfast and well-balanced lunch and dinner.

"Some people feel that they'll skip breakfast and then they can eat more for lunch," said Mrs. Burrows. "But it doesn't work."

Both women said such behaviour often leads to diabetes. "Skipping breakfast is the diabetes challenge," they said.

Why? It's mainly to do with the fact that you significantly slow your metabolism by omitting this meal. This means that even when you eat your lunch, you have less energy to aid in its digestion and in burning it up. Less energy means you're burning fewer calories and if that's the case, you'll gain weight.