How important is breakfast?
November 5, 2014
There are many health benefits to eating a good breakfast every morning, but new research is beginning to show that losing weight may not be one of them.
That is the conclusion of a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which found that individuals who skipped breakfast were just as successful in losing weight as those who ate breakfast regularly.
Previous research has shown both that individuals who make a habit of missing breakfast are more likely to be overweight, and that successful dieters tend to eat breakfast at least five days a week.
Among the caveats of the new study, according to researchers, is that it lasted only 16 weeks, and the people in the study chose what they ate -- in other words there were no controls for type or amount of food. Also, researchers did not account for body fat, metabolism, or appetite.
The researchers suspect that the correlation between eating breakfast and loosing weight in the past was not a direct one. Individuals who eat breakfast every morning tend to be the people who also eat healthy all day long and space meals out properly.
So, while more studies are needed, the immediate message may be to try to eat on a regular basis and include a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and leafy vegetables -- whether you are trying to lose weight or not.