Eat Your Breakfast: It Helps Keep You Fit

For McDonald's Breakfast fans--this isn't for you. However, if you do love a morning meal of the healthier persuasion, a new study regarding the age old saying about the 'most important meal of the day' shows just how taking time for this food could help you stay fit.

According to a study by Tel Aviv University, people who had their biggest meal of the day at breakfast time were more likely to lose weight and have a lower risk of developing diseases linked with body weight, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension and even high cholesterol.

Researcher Daniela Jakubowicz and her colleagues studied 93 obese women who were randomly assigned to one of two regimented eating plans. All of the women consumed 1,400 calories a day in moderate-carbohydrate and moderate-fat diet for 12 weeks. One group consumed 700 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 200 at dinner while the other group inverted the order, consuming only 200 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 700 at dinner.

According to the study, the 700-calorie breakfast and dinner included the same foods, with such items as even chocolate, cake and cookies.

Yet results showed that both test groups showed weight loss following a 12 week period of a restricted calorie diet. However, by the end of the study period, women who had consumed the big breakfast diet lost more weight--an average of 17.8 pounds and three inches off their waistline. The big dinner group only lost an average of 7.3 pounds and 1.4 inches off their waistline.

Big breakfast eaters also showed slightly lower hunger levels throughout the day than those who skipped the meal or had smaller portions, including lower levels of insulin, glucose and triglycerides that can translate into a lower risk of obesity related diseases.

Researchers hope to find out more about the proper eating habits at various times of the day.

More information regarding this study can be found in the journal Obesity.