The most important meal of the day? How bacon lobbyists and religion created breakfast as we know it

We've tied all sorts of ills to a failure to sit down to a hearty breakfast. But research and history show that skipping our granola bowl does not, in fact, harm our health

Until very recently, common wisdom held that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. We've anecdotally tied all sorts of ills to a failure to sit down to a "complete breakfast." But health research has proven that skipping that fried egg or bowl of cereal does not, in fact, lead to weight gain, health issues or underperformance.

Our reverence for breakfast is actually relatively recent. Before the late 19th century in the US, breakfast didn't have any particular importance ascribed to it. But all that was changed by a small group of religious fanatics and lobbyists for cereal and bacon companies.