Nutrition tips are now like sand by the sea. And research does not seem to agree on the correct prevention of overweight: some nutritional concepts recommend avoiding breakfast, while others make the morning meal the most important thing. Scientists from the Psychoneurobiology Section of the University of Lübeck have now joined the second group: According to the results of her investigation, a hearty breakfast is said to help maintain weight.
Like an emperor in the morning?
For their laboratory test, the researchers first presented 16 normal-weight men with low-calorie breakfast and high-calorie dinner, and then repeated the test the other way around for control purposes. Your conclusion: The subjects' bodies burned 2.5 times as much energy in the morning as in the evening. It didn't matter how many calories were eaten.
"The increase in blood sugar and insulin levels after breakfast was significantly reduced compared to dinner," says nutritionist Juliane Richter. The researchers assume that this genetic daily rhythm is maintained even if you change your diet, for example on a diet.
Less breakfast cravings
In addition, it was observed that a sumptuous breakfast slowed the appetite (especially for sweets) throughout the day. On the other hand, if you only consumed a few calories in the morning, you tended to be significantly more hungry, which is bad for both weight and blood sugar. A follow-up study will now investigate whether overweight people can lose weight more easily with breakfast.
It should be noted in the results that only a few subjects were examined and the study was conducted in laboratory conditions, not in everyday life. Still, it doesn't hurt to test the method if you want to maintain your weight.