CESGRANRIO 2020

Is breakfast always a good idea?

By Philippa Roxby

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but eating it won’t help you lose weight, research suggests

    Those who ate breakfast consumed 260 more
[5] calories per day and gained 1 lb. (approximately 500
kilograms) more than those who skipped it, a review
of previous studies found. But experts say a healthy
breakfast can be a good source of calcium and fiber.
It has also been shown to improve concentration and
[10] attention levels, particularly in children. Breakfast
gives you energy, stops you snacking later in the day
and supplies essential nutrients – so we are told.
Its reputation as the nutritional backstop to our day
stems from observational studies showing a positive
[15] link between people eating breakfast and having a
healthy weight.

    But this new Australian research in the British
Medical Journal, which reviewed the results of 13
separate trials on breakfast eating, weight change
[20] and energy intake, found little evidence for those
views. The findings of the Monash University research
team suggest that skipping breakfast might in fact be
a good way to reduce total daily calorie intake. They
found that breakfast eaters consumed more calories
[25] overall and breakfast skippers did not have a greater
appetite in the afternoon. And they say caution is
needed when recommending breakfast for weight
loss in adults – because it could have the opposite
effect. However, the researchers added that there
[30] were limitations to their study. The participants in the
studies were only followed for short periods – from
between two and 16 weeks – and the difference in
calorie intake between breakfast eaters and skippers
was small. The researchers concluded that working
[35] out the long-term effect of skipping or adding breakfast
to diets still needed more research.

Calcium and fiber boost

    Prof Kevin Whelan, dietetics expert and head
of King College of London’s nutritional sciences
[40] department, says we should not get too hung up on
calorie intake first thing in the morning. “This study
does not say breakfast is bad for the health,” he said.
“Breakfast is important for nutrient intake, such as
cereals and milk which are good for calcium and fiber.”
[45] But the BMJ research did not look at this aspect of
breakfast. “We are not talking about breakfast being
the cause of obesity,” he said.

Available at: https:www.bbc.com/news/health-47070173?intlink_ from_url. Retrieved on: Jan. 31, 2019. Adapted.