A new study has found that breakfast might not be the most important meal of the day after all – at least when it comes to losing weight.
The research, carried out in Australia and published in the British Medical Journal, examined 13 studies into the Breakfast eating habits of people in high-income countries.
It found no evidence to support the long-held belief that skipping breakfast reduces the metabolism, leading to weight gain.
The study said: “This systematic review of randomised controlled trials examining weight change in adults consuming or skipping breakfast found no evidence to support the notion that breakfast consumption promotes weight loss or that skipping breakfast leads to weight gain.”
It found that eating breakfast increased total daily energy intake compared to skipping breakfast – with no evidence to support the claim that skipping breakfast leads to increased caloric intake.
Image: British Medical Journal
Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: “Reasonable evidence now suggests that skipping breakfast can actually be a useful strategy to reduce weight.”
He said the traditional view of the importance of eating breakfast while attempting to lose weight was “based on multiple studies of small animals and a few short term studies in humans.”
“The concept of over-compensation later in the day was correct,” he said.
“People who skip breakfast do eat more lunch and slightly reduce their activity—but importantly not nearly enough to make up the lost energy intake.”
File photo of breakfast cereal. Image: Steve Parsons/PA Wire/PA Images
He notes that many observational studies which found that obese and diabetic people skipped meals more often than thin people were “flawed by bias.”
“People who skipped breakfast were more likely on average to be poorer, less educated, less healthy, and to have a generally poorer diet,” he said.
“Overweight people were more likely to try and diet, and after a binge were more likely to feel guilty and skip a meal.”
Breakfast and weight loss: #BMJInfographic #VisualAbstract reviews the effects of breakfast consumption on weight loss and energy intake https://t.co/jSpu11mrGn @will_s_t pic.twitter.com/KeodkhbogP
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) January 31, 2019
He warns that there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to dietary benefits of eating breakfast – and notes that “no harm can be done in trying out your own personal experiments.”
Regardless of the impact in terms of weight loss, the authors of the study do note that “eating breakfast regularly could have other important effects, such as improved concentration and attentiveness levels in childhood.”
They found that further randomised controlled trials will be needed to reach a conclusion on the role of breakfast in overall weight management.
