Nutritional timing, Part IV: Should I eat breakfast if I want to loose weight?

In previous blog entry, I briefly mentioned data suggesting the relationship between a higher total caloric intake throughout the day and the majority of energy consumed in the evening[1]. This has been one of the main argument supporting the importance of eating breakfast in the morning. Kids, adolescence and adults are commonly told by personal trainers, exercise physiologists, parents and even Siri that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. Is that true?

The importance of breakfast is related to factors associated with over-night fast. As a result of not eating for an extended period of time, the energy stored in our blood and muscles will be lower. This will result in an increased use of fat compared to carbohydrates as energy. While this might sound great for individuals desiring to lose fat, one needs to understand that the body still requires a certain amount of energy derived from carbohydrates to function properly which instead of being provided through food, will be taken from stores in the body such as the muscles. 

Recent data suggests that consuming breakfast will result in decrease risk of weight gain and better maintenance of weight balance due to increase satiety, lower desire to eat and perceived hunger throughout the early and/or late morning periods. This results in an overall lower caloric consumption  throughout the day which ease maintenance of energy balance. The national weight control registry reported that among the population who has a successful weight loss maintenance, 78% consumed breakfast[2].

Consuming breakfast has shown to affect the hormonal levels and brain activity in our body that are associated with stimulation of appetite and feelings of satiety. Ghrelin has been defined as the hormone that stimulates appetite and was decreased following breakfast, and brain activation pattern signaling energy intake have showed to change following a meal[3] [4]. This lower desire to eat and greater satiety are directly related to amount of snacking. Breakfast-skippers consume more food through snacking compared to breakfast consumers. In addition to greater frequency, their go to snack tend to be unhealthy and consist of foods high in calories [5]. Meanwhile, consumption of a breakfast showed to decrease the urge for frequent unhealthy snacking, enabling the breakfast eaters to replace cravings for unhealthy snacks usually consumed in the evening, with nutritious food consumed in the morning [3].

Further, it has been suggested that breakfast composition (amount of fat, protein and carbohydrates) might play a role for additional benefits of breakfast consumption. Recent data has shown that consuming a breakfast high in protein (31g) prevents fat gain an promotes weight balance through decrease in hunger and lower caloric intake not only in the morning, but throughout the entire day compared to skipping breakfast, consuming a low protein breakfast (13 grams of protein) and consuming the protein in either lunch or dinner other meals[6]. Higher protein content in the breakfast might decrease total amount of calories consumed late in the evening, 656 ± 108 kcal compared to 486 ± 84 kcal as well as calories consumed as carbs and fat.

While these are great news for breakfast lovers, there are a big population who struggle with food intake in the morning, but don’t worry. First of, consuming breakfast does not mean that you have to go straight from your bed and into the kitchen. The benefits of eating breakfast has been shown when the window of no food consumption in the morning is four hours which will give you some leeway in the time to wake up before consuming breakfast. Secondly, 350 calories which was the standard breakfast used in a lot of the studies is not a lot of food. In order to get 31 grams of protein and 350 calories, all you would have to eat is 1 cup of yogurt, 1 banana and 1 egg.  

[1] Castro JM. The time of day and the proportions of macronutrients eaten are related to total daily food intake. Brit J Nutr 98, 1077-1083, 2007.

[2] Wyatt HR, Grunwald GK, Mosca CL, Klem ML, Wing RR, and Hill JO. Long-term weight loss and breakfast in subjects in the National Weight Control Registry. Obes Res 10:78–82, 2002.

[3] Leidy HJ, Ortinau LC, Douglas SM, and Hoertel HA. Beneficial effects of higher-protein breakfast on the appetitive, hormonal, and neural signals controlling energy intake regulation in overweight/obese, “breakfast-skipping”, late-adolescent girls. Am J Clin Nut 97: 677-688, 2013.

[4] Van Vugt DA. Brain imaging studies of appetite in the context of obesity and the menstrual cycle. Hum Reprod Update 16:276–92, 2010.

[5] Deshmukh-Taskar PR, Nicklas TA, O’Neil CE, Keast DR, Radcliffe JD, and Cho S. The relationship of breakfast skipping and type of breakfast consumption with nutrient intake and weight status in children and adolescents: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2006. J Am Diet Assoc 110: 869–78, 2010.

[6] Leidy HJ1, Bossingham MJ, Mattes RD. Campbell WW Increased dietary protein consumed at breakfast leads to an initial and sustained feeling of fullness during energy restriction compared to other meal times. Br J Nutr 101:798-803, 2009.