Could skipping breakfast be bad for your immune system?

A new study could lead to a better understanding of how chronic fasting may affect the body in the long term.

A new study looks into the potential impacts of fasting (Alamy/PA)

Skipping breakfast may be bad for the immune system, making it more difficult for the body to fight off infection, according to a new study.

Fasting could also lead to an increased risk of heart disease, the research suggests.

Researchers say the study, carried out in mice, is among the first to show that skipping meals triggers a response in the brain that negatively affects immune cells.