Visceral fat is considered a risk factor for dangerous diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. One of the common questions today is whether skipping meals, especially breakfast, helps reduce visceral fat or not?
Scientific research shows that skipping meals can have an effect on reducing body fat, including visceral fat, but the effectiveness and extent of this effect depends on how it is done. One of the main mechanisms of skipping meals is to reduce total calorie intake, leading to an energy deficit and stimulating the body to use stored fat, including visceral fat. A study published in the journal Obesity showed that continuous calorie reduction over a long period of time can reduce visceral fat in obese people.
However, skipping meals does not always bring positive results. The World Health Organization warns that skipping meals unscientifically can cause unwanted side effects such as metabolic disorders, reduced energy levels, and even increased fat storage in the body. Skipping meals can lead to strong hunger and cravings, making people easily compensate for eating at the next meal, leading to excessive calorie consumption, which does not help reduce visceral fat but can also increase this amount of fat.
Skipping meals, if not combined with a proper diet, can impair the function of the digestive organs and reduce the efficiency of the metabolism. In fact, some studies have shown that intermittent fasting, in which meals are skipped for a certain period of time, can be more effective in reducing visceral fat than skipping meals haphazardly.
