How The World Was Duped Into Believing Breakfast Is The Most Important Meal

There were a lot of things we heard growing up, like coffee stunts our growth, carrots improve night vision, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As it turns out, this food lore was all bogus. There's no evidence backing coffee's ability to stunt height, and while carrots are loaded with vitamin A, which is good for eyesight, they sadly don't give humans super-powered nocturnal abilities. The importance of breakfast, on the other hand, is one that fooled everyone, not just kids.

For the anti-breakfast folks, it's been a constant battle. Plenty of people can't stomach anything other than coffee before 11 a.m., while others can't get started without their daily breakfast sandwich. As it turns out, John Harvey Kellogg pushed this idea as early as 1917, and it's one of America's first great PR success stories, rooted in complete nonsense. Yes, breakfast is important to a healthy lifestyle, but it's not proven to be the most important meal in any way.

John Harvey Kellogg, a known Seventh-day Adventist and health fanatic, wanted everyone to start their day with his fibrous cereal, which he somehow tied to religious morality. Kellogg promoted this concept for his own beliefs, but he used the clever marketing tactic to do so. This notion attached itself to cereal and, in the '40s, it solidified itself in America, courtesy of General Foods (now Post Consumer Brands) and its marketing team.

In 1944, Grape-Nuts came out with a new slogan, "Eat a Good Breakfast — Do a Better Job," via Newspapers.com. The belief was floating around well before Kellogg or Grape-Nuts attached itself to the concept, with Good Housekeeping printing a similar notion as early as 1889, but it wasn't until the '40s that the claim spread through Grape-Nuts' nationwide consumer-base.

Advertisements echoed the sentiment on the radio, in magazines, newspapers, you name it. Trusted folks have been regurgitating this notion ever since, despite it lacking any scientific backing. This may be partially because eating breakfast does make you feel good. Logically, it makes sense. Breakfast is the first meal to enter your body, which really sets the pace for the day. Getting started with something healthy and nutritious is proven to boost your mood and energy, but overall, there is no one meal that's more important than another.