Choosing to skip breakfast in your mid 50s rather than having a healthy and substantial morning meal could be causing you to gain weight, a study has found. 

Around 380 Spaniards with 'metabolic syndrome' took part in a study over a period of three years, where data was collected on their health, weight and eating habits. 

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. 

These include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels.

The study found that a substantial breakfast which accounts for 20 to 30 per cent of a persons daily calorie intake, was better than a small breakfast or no breakfast at all.

NHS guidelines recommend 2,000 calories a day for women and 2,500 for men. A healthy breakfast should account for 20 to 25 per cent of a person's daily calorie intake and include a variety of foods. 

People in the study who had a breakfast of around 400 calories had a lower BMI than those who skipped breakfast, The Telegraph reported. Their waist was also an inch smaller. 

Those who had large breakfasts were more unhealthy and larger than those who skipped breakfast, the study found. 

The study's author, Karla-Alejandra Pérez-Vega, from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute in Barcelona, told The Telegraph that they looked 'exclusively' at analysing breakfast and so cannot say whether it is the most important meal of the day. 

However, she added, 'it is undoubtedly an important meal, as it serves the critical role of breaking the extended fasting period from sleep.'

She added the individuals who skipped breakfast were also included in the group that consumed less energy.

She said they showed 'higher weight values over time' compared to those who had a substantial but healthy breakfast.

But a full English she said would not meet the criteria of a well-balanced breakfast as it 'may exceed the energy and saturated fat levels'. 

MailOnline previously reported that eating breakfast before 7am could boost life expectancy. 

Researchers from City University of New York tracked more than 34,000 Americans aged over 40 for several decades.

Volunteers recorded eating times and scientists matched these with death rates over the course of the study.

The results, published in the Journal of Nutrition, showed those breakfasting between 6am and 7am were six per cent less likely to die prematurely from major illnesses such as heart disease or cancer than those who regularly had breakfast at 8am, and 12 per cent less at risk of early death than others who first ate at 10am.