New research flies in the face of the old saying ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’, alleging that skipping breakfast may help overweight Australians lose weight.

The Monash University study found people who fasted between 8pm and midday saw improvements in their blood pressure and reduced their waist circumference.

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Monash University gastroenterologist Alex Hodge said there was no difference in hunger levels or kilojoules between the fasting group and the group placed on a regular diet.

“What it really shows is that eating over a shorter period of time has added benefits, even though people actually ate the same amount of calories in the study as they did before but they just ate them over a shorter period of time,” Dr Hodge said.

Despite the findings, other medical researchers warn skipping breakfast can lead to overeating later in the day, claiming that fasting actually increases fat storage and weight gain.

Additionally, skipping breakfast reportedly makes you less inclined to eat fruit and vegetables for the rest of the day.

More than 5.5 million Australians suffer from non-alcoholic liver disease.