The idea that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” stems from a 1944 cereal ad campaign—not science. Before cereal, breakfast wasn’t a set routine. Industrialization and clever marketing made it a daily habit. Cereal, born from moral reformers like Kellogg, was pushed as health food but became sugary and profitable. Today, people are rethinking breakfast, but its roots remain steeped in marketing, not necessity.