For women in their 40s and 50s, particularly those navigating the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause, breakfast is not just about energy, its a metabolic signal. A growing body of research confirms that what and when you eat in the morning has profound impacts on insulin sensitivity, hormone regulation, and the risk of chronic disease.

​

In a major 2024 study, following over 71,000 middle-aged women, researchers found that women over 40 years of age, who ate breakfast, had a 15% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to women who regularly skipped breakfast [1]. Interestingly, in younger women, there was only a 2% reduction in risk, suggesting that age plays a role. In addition, the highest rates of obesity (more than 25%), were found among breakfast skippers. This highlights the vulnerability of midlife women to the metabolic impacts of fasting or irregular eating patterns.

​

The problem with skipping breakfast in midlife

Skipping breakfast is often seen as a quick way to reduce calories or a simple form of intermittent fasting. But for midlife women, especially during the menopausal transition, this habit may be backfiring.

​

Hormonal changes in midlife increase a woman’s risk of developing insulin resistance. Oestrogen plays a protective role in glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity, and as levels decline, blood sugar and insulin regulation become more fragile. When breakfast is skipped, the body responds with a stronger cortisol surge, which in turn raises blood glucose and further impairs insulin sensitivity.

​

In simple terms, delaying your first meal of the day puts more pressure on an already stressed metabolic system.

​

Insulin sensitivity peaks in the morning

The body is most insulin sensitive in the morning, which means your cells are better able to take up glucose from the blood and use it efficiently for energy. This is a central pillar of chrononutrition, a field that studies how meal timing interacts with the body's circadian rhythm.

​

Studies show that consuming more of your daily calories earlier in the day leads to better glycaemic control, improved lipid profiles, and even greater weight loss compared to eating the same amount later in the day [2,3]. Conversely, skipping breakfast, leads to greater hunger later in the day and eating larger meals at night disrupts this natural rhythm and contributes to weight gain, poor sleep, and higher inflammatory markers [4].

​

In the 2023 randomised trial by Alom et al., early time-restricted eating (eTRE), which prioritised food intake earlier in the day, significantly improved insulin sensitivity in overweight women when compared to late time-restricted eating, even when total calories were matched [5].

​

Women respond differently to fasting

Most intermittent fasting studies are based on male physiology. However, a growing body of evidence shows that women are more sensitive to the metabolic effects of prolonged fasting, especially during their reproductive and perimenopausal years.

​

Even after menopause, prolonged morning fasting can disrupt the balance of kisspeptin, leptin, ghrelin, and other appetite hormones. The female body interprets a lack of early energy intake as a signal of scarcity, triggering a cascade of hormonal adjustments that can include suppressed thyroid and metabolic activity, increased hunger later in the day, and reduced muscle protein synthesis [6].

​

This is not to say that all fasting is bad for women, but that early food intake, particularly protein, may be critical for maintaining metabolic and hormonal health in midlife.

​

Chrononutrition and circadian alignment

Your digestive system, liver enzymes, pancreas, and even gut microbes follow a circadian rhythm. Disrupting that rhythm with late eating or skipping meals can impair glucose metabolism, promote fat storage, and even alter gene expression related to metabolism [7].

​

Eating earlier in the day, particularly within one hour of waking, helps reset your circadian clock and supports optimal hormonal signalling. Breakfast acts as a "time cue" for your body, reinforcing the rhythm that keeps your energy, sleep, and appetite stable.

​

This explains why skipping breakfast is associated with greater insulin resistance, higher BMI, and increased risk of metabolic syndrome in multiple studies across different populations [1,4,8].

​

Recommendations for women over 40

Many experts recommend that women in midlife eat within 30 to 60 minutes of waking, with a strong focus on protein. This helps to blunt the cortisol surge, stabilise blood glucose, kick-start metabolism and maintain lean muscle mass.

​

Here are practical, evidence-based recommendations:

• Eat within 30 to 60 minutes of waking. A delayed first meal can exaggerate cortisol and impair insulin sensitivity.

• Include 25 to 30 grams of high-quality protein at breakfast. Protein supports satiety, muscle maintenance, and metabolic rate. Good options include eggs, tofu, soy milk, legumes, and plant-based protein powders.

• Add fibre-rich foods such as vegetables, chia seeds, oats, or flax bread. Fibre improves insulin sensitivity and feeds beneficial gut bacteria.

• Limit added sugars and refined carbohydrates, especially at breakfast. These can spike insulin and trigger mid-morning crashes.

• If practising time-restricted eating, choose an earlier window (for example 8 am to 6 pm) rather than skipping breakfast and eating into the evening.

​

Reset Tip:  Not hungry in the mornings?
If your digestion feels sluggish in the morning, you might need to retrain your body to eat in alignment with your circadian rhythm. 

• Try finishing your evening meal (the night before) a little earlier, around 5-6pm and allow your body to fast overnight. After a few rounds of this, you’ll find your system naturally resets, and you wake up genuinely hungry and ready for nourishment.

• Water and lemon juice upon waking, can help stimulate digestion, hydrate your cells, and gently nudge your liver into gear.

 

Final thoughts

For women navigating the hormonal chaos of midlife, eating earlier and smarter is one of the most powerful tools for reclaiming metabolic balance. Breakfast is not just a meal. It is a message to your body that the day has begun, that you are safe, nourished, and ready to function.

Instead of skipping it, use breakfast to stabilise stress hormones, improve insulin sensitivity, and align your internal clocks. In the long run, it is not about dieting harder. It is about with your biology, not against it.

​

 

References:

1. Martínez CF, Stern D, Cortés-Valencia A, et al. The association between breakfast frequency and diabetes incidence in middle-aged women: Results from the MTC study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024;34(12):2360–2368. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2024.06.005

2. Jakubowicz D, Barnea M, Wainstein J, Froy O. High caloric intake at breakfast vs dinner differentially influences weight loss in overweight and obese women. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013;21(12):2504–2512.

3. Farshchi HR, Taylor MA, Macdonald IA. Deleterious effects of omitting breakfast on insulin sensitivity and fasting lipid profiles in healthy lean women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;81(2):388–396.

4. Leproult R, Holmbäck U, Van Cauter E. Circadian misalignment augments markers of insulin resistance and inflammation, independently of sleep loss. Diabetes. 2014;63(6):1860–1869.

5. Alom J, et al. Effects of Isocaloric Early vs Late Time-Restricted Eating on Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiometabolic Health in Women. medRxiv. 2023. doi:10.1101/2023.10.15.23296992

6. Izzi‐Engbeaya C, Dhillo WS. Emerging roles for kisspeptin in metabolism. The Journal of Physiology. 2022 Mar;600(5):1079-88.

7. Wehrens SMT, Christou S, Isherwood C, et al. Meal timing regulates the human circadian system. Curr Biol. 2017;27(12):1768–1775.e3.

8. Raji OE, Kyeremah EB, Sears DD, St-Onge MP, Makarem N. Chrononutrition and cardiometabolic health: an overview of epidemiological evidence and key future research directions. Nutrients. 2024 Jul 19;16(14):2332.