Doctors in China recently removed more than 200 stones from a woman’s body in a single operation. Some of the stones, found in the woman’s liver and gallbladder, were as large as eggs. Surgeons claim the stones were most likely caused by the fact that the woman had been regularly skipping breakfast for more than a decade.

The operation to remove the stones lasted 6 1/2 hours. The patient, 45-year-old Ms. Chen, makes a living by collecting rosin – a brown, sticky substance that comes from pine trees. Doctors from the Guangji Hospital in China said Ms. Chen had often eaten meals at irregular hours. She first began experiencing abdominal pain over 10 years ago.

When Ms. Chen went to the doctor’s for an exam years ago, she was advised to undergo surgery. She refused the operation because she was afraid. But when her abdominal pain become unbearable, she was admitted into the hospital.

Dr. Quan Xuwei, one of the surgeons who performed the operation, said many of his patients who suffered from gallstones either skipped breakfast or rushed through their breakfast. Dr. Quan believes that when a person doesn’t eat breakfast, their gallbladder stops shrinking or expanding. This could cause bile to build up in the gallbladder, leading to high cholesterol and calcium levels.

Does Skipping Breakfast Really Cause Gallstones?

Other medical experts have different options. Vice president of the British Society of Gastroenterology, Dr. George Webster, said the theory is “pure speculation, with no scientific evidence to support it.”

Dr. Webster also said that stones in the gallbladder and the liver are a common problem all over the world and the cause is often unclear. He added that it is more common to find patients with liver stones in China and Eastern Asia, than in the West. This is most likely due to the increased rates of infection in the bile ducts. When it comes down to it, it is highly unlikely that skipping breakfastdirectly causes gallbladder issues.