People should eat breakfast to keep their hearts in good condition, according to researchers in the US.
Their study of 27,000 men, in the journal Circulation, showed those skipping breakfast were at a greater risk of heart problems.
The team at the Harvard School of Public Health said missing the meal put an "extra strain" on the body.
The British Heart Foundation said breakfast helped people resist sugary snacks before lunch.
The men, aged 45-82, were studied for 16 years. During that time there were more than 1,500 heart attacks or cases of fatal heart failure.
However, people who skipped breakfast were 27% more likely to have heart problems than those who started the day with a meal. The researchers adjusted for other lifestyle risk factors such as smoking and exercise.
Researcher, Dr Leah Cahill told the BBC: "The take-home message is eat in the morning when you wake up, preferably within an hour.
"The results show that something is better than nothing, but it's always better to have something healthy and balanced."
She said the timing of the meal seemed to be key and waiting until lunch rather than "breaking fast" may be straining the body over time.
She said this could be increasing the risk of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes which could in turn damage the heart.
"Don't skip breakfast," Dr Cahill concluded.
Victoria Taylor, a dietitian with the British Heart Foundation, said: "These researchers only looked at men aged over 45, so we would need to see further research to confirm that breakfast has the same impact on the heart health of other groups of people.
"What we do know is that a healthy and filling breakfast can make that mid-morning biscuit less tempting, as well as giving you another opportunity to widen the variety of foods in your diet.
"Wholegrain toast, or cereals like porridge with low fat milk are a good way to start the day. Try a sliced banana or dried fruit on top and you'll be on your way to five-a-day before you've even left the house."Eating breakfast is the secret to staying healthy, according to evidence unearthed by doctors in the US.
They believe skipping the first meal of the day increases the chances of becoming obese, developing diabetes or even having a heart attack.
Their study found that people who eat whole-grain cereals every morning are among those most likely to see the health benefits.
Dr Mark Pereira and colleagues at Harvard Medical School analysed the eating habits of 1,198 black people and 1,633 white participants.
Overall, 47% of whites and 22% of blacks said they ate breakfast every morning.
Health benefits
They found that people who ate breakfast every day were a third less likely to be obese compared to those who skipped the meal.
In addition, they were half as likely to have blood-sugar problems, which increase the risk of developing diabetes or having high cholesterol, which is a known risk factor for heart disease.
They suggest people who eat breakfast are less likely to be hungry during the rest of the day and are, therefore, less likely to overeat.
"Our results suggest that breakfast may really be the most important meal of the day," said Dr Periera.
"It appears that breakfast may play an important role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease."
The researchers have recently started to examine what those involved in the study ate for breakfast, to see if certain foods were more likely to help them stay healthy.
Initial results have suggested that whole-grain cereals may be of benefit.
They found that people who ate these were 15% less likely to have blood sugar problems but Dr Pereira said: "We need to do more research."
Growing evidence
The British Dietetic Association said the findings added to the growing body of evidence in support of eating breakfast every morning.
"There is a lot of scientific evidence behind this," spokeswoman Catherine Collins told BBC News Online.
"Obviously the traditional fry-up is too fat and calorie rich to aid weight control, but cereals and toast are of benefit.
"Breakfast can be a very good source of vitamins. Many processed cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals which people can find it difficult to get elsewhere if they are just having two meals a day."
The study was presented at the American Heart Association's annual conference in Miami.
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