Can a protein rich breakfast keep overeating in check?

According to researchers, people who skip breakfast are more prone to nibble on high-calorie snacks during the day to stave off hunger which in turn increases the odds of obesity.

Lead author of the study, Heather Leidy, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri stated, "Everyone knows that eating breakfast is important, but many people still don't make it a priority.

"This research provides additional evidence that breakfast is a valuable strategy to control appetite and regulate food intake."

Study details
In a bid to determine whether a breakfast rich in proteins diminishes brain signals controlling food motivation and reward-driven eating behaviour, the researchers conducted a study.

The focus of the research was teenagers who are more inclined to skip the morning meal on a regular basis. They recruited 10 volunteers for a period of three weeks.

The teens were split into three groups. One set of adolescents missed breakfast, the second group had a morning meal of cereal and milk, while the third ate rich protein breakfast of Belgium waffles, syrup, and yogurt.

To measure appetite and food satiety, the study subjects filled out questionnaires at the end of each of the three weeks.

Additionally, they underwent a brain scan, using fMRI to examine the brain activity.

Outcome of the study
The youngsters who started the day with breakfast reported greater food satiety and less hunger pangs throughout the morning, compared to those who abstained from the morning meal.

Moreover, the study found eating breakfast reduced brain activity in regions linked with motivation and reward.

Also, adolescents who incorporated high protein in their breakfast were able to ward off hunger longer and exhibited greater alterations in reward eating behavior than those who consumed a morning meal of milk and cereal.

Leidy concluded, “Incorporating a healthy breakfast containing protein-rich foods can be a simple strategy for people to stay satisfied longer, and therefore, be less prone to snacking.

“People reach for convenient snack foods to satisfy their hunger between meals, but these foods are almost always high in sugar and fat and add a substantial amount of calories to the diet.

"These findings suggest that a protein-rich breakfast might be an effective strategy to improve appetite control and prevent overeating in young people.”

The study was published in the journal 'Obesity.'