New Study Questions Benefits of Breakfast as Most Important Meal

SPRINGFIELD — Nutrition experts have long touted the importance of eating breakfast and not skipping what they consider the most important meal of the day. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges everyone to “eat a healthy breakfast every day,” such as fruits, oatmeal, and whole-grain cereal.

Now comes a new study that says breakfast may well not be the most important meal of the day, especially when it comes to weight loss.

Researchers at Columbia University recently divided people into three groups in an attempt to find the answer. One group skipped breakfast entirely, while another group ate oatmeal for breakfast and a third group ate Frosted Flakes.

The results? Overweight people who skipped breakfast were the only group that lost weight.

The recent study is in direct opposition to one reported in the journal Obesity in 2007, involving a study of more than 20,000 men in the U.S., which found that those men who ate breakfast were less likely to gain weight over time as opposed to those who skipped breakfast. It is this very study and others that led the U.S. Dietary Guidelines advisory committee to support the fact that skipping breakfast causes weight gain by preventing overeating later in the day.

So, what’s a person to think who has been sitting at the breakfast table for years? Is it really all about weight? What are the benefits?

“No, it’s not all about weight gain. Studies regarding the benefits of breakfast and weight gain are contradictory,” said Sheila Sullivan, a registered dietitian in Food and Nutrition Services at Baystate Medical Center. “Outcomes in other studies show consistently that children and adults who eat breakfast have better brain function, attention span, and memory. Also, it is important to take morning medications as ordered. And some medications, like insulin and oral diabetic medications, need to be taken with meals.”

When it comes to growing kids, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says breakfast is important. They say studies have shown that breakfast eaters tend to have higher school attendance, less tardiness, and fewer hunger-induced stomachaches in the morning. Their overall test scores are higher, they concentrate better, solve problems more easily, and have better muscle coordination. And adults reap some of these same benefits, noted Sullivan.

Still, in our increasingly hectic and busy world, people often leave home in a rush with no time for breakfast. Quick and easy breakfasts can still be healthy, noted Sullivan. The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests:

• Whole grain waffles topped with fresh fruit;

• An English-muffin sandwich with low-fat cheese and low-sodium, sliced deli ham (warm in the microwave to melt the cheese);

• Unsweetened breakfast cereal topped with fresh, cut-up fruit;

• Scrambled eggs cooked in the microwave; or

• A peanut-butter sandwich on whole-grain bread with a banana.

“Breakfast is an opportunity to get important nutrients, vitamins, and minerals,” Sullivan said. “It can be quick and easy.”