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A lot of people feel that by ignoring the first meal of the day, they are reducing their calorie intake and ensuring weight loss.

However, they don’t know, says fitness and health expert Deanne Pandey, that it creates a “vicious cycle that results in a larger meal toward the end of the day and a loss of appetite the next morning.

Our body loves to be fuelled often to perform well.” Agrees Sharma who says that people who cut calories by missing breakfast are often found “snacking later in the day and fighting the low energy battle during late afternoon and evening.

Breakfast was designed to revv up your body for the rest of the day by boosting your energy, keeping your eating patterns even and stimulating your body’s metabolism.

Those who skip breakfast are constantly in the focus on weight loss mode.” A study published in 2006 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that breakfast consumption may be associated with more healthy body weights in children and adolescents; that skipping breakfast is common in overweight or obese children, and may be related to dieting or eating disorders; that those who don’t eat breakfast are less likely to engage in physical activity, resulting in positive energy balance and weight gain; and that breakfast consumption may positively affect cognitive function.

The body needs a judicious blend of protein (pr...

However, with obesity now the second biggest preventable killer disease after smoking, nutritionists are questioning whether the European Union's food research investment of 1.9 billion (£1.3bn) would be better spent on basic healthy eating education rather than on bio-technology and nutrigenomics.

advertisement Functional foods - foods perceived to have an added nutritional value - were worth £1.1bn by the end of 2005, having grown 143% since 2000.

Dairy products such as spreads, yoghurts and probiotic drinks make up 45% of the sector, with Danone's Actimel the number one brand.

Their growth has sparked a move to develop further links between medical science and diet.

Professor Charles Daly from the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork predicts by 2030 scientists will have a full understanding of our 25,000 genes and, through genetic sequencing, will be able to confirm specific dietary requirements.

"We can take a prevention rather than a treatment strategy," said Daly, "There is clearly an enhanced role for food in ensuring a better quality of life and a role for diet in preventing these dise...