14 DAY TRIAL // According to an investigation whose findings are to be published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition this coming April, those who take the time to eat a protein-rich meal early in the morning find it significantly easier to control their appetite during the day.
The researchers who pieced together this study explain that, because of their no longer feeling the need to snack on various types of food while at work or at school, these people are also likely to experience a significant weight loss on the longer run.
Prior to their reaching these conclusions concerning the health benefits of eating a protein-rich breakfast on a daily basis, the researchers asked a total of 20 volunteers between the ages of 18 – 20 to follow a certain breakfast regimen for a period of six days.
Thus, these volunteers were split into three groups. Two groups were asked to eat either mostly protein or mostly cereals for breakfast, respectively. The remaining group was asked to skip breakfast altogether.
Just for the record, the teenagers chosen to take part in this study were all either overweight or obese girls, and none of them was all that keen on eating breakfast on a daily basis.
Tests carried out on the seventh day showed that those who had been consuming significant amounts of protein-rich foods during the first hours of the morning felt less hungry throughout the day. Medical Daily quotes Heather Ledy, now working as an assistant professor at the University of Missouri's Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, who wished to make the following observations:
“Eating a protein-rich breakfast impacts the drive to eat later in the day, when people are more likely to consume high-fat or high-sugar snacks.”
“These data suggest that eating a protein-rich breakfast is one potential strategy to prevent overeating and improve diet quality by replacing unhealthy snacks with high quality breakfast foods.”