Breakfast of (Slim) Champions

by Michael Greger, M.D.

On my new cooking show DVD, I explain how eating a healthy breakfast can help shed pounds. The evidence certainly seemed to point that way, but we weren't sure if it was just the diet or some other factor--maybe breakfast eaters exercised more or something and that's why they were slimmer?

Last month a study was published which, for the first time, controlled for other lifestyle factors such as exercise, smoking , poverty, etc. And lo and behold, those who ate a healthy breakfast indeed were significantly slimmer than those who skipped breakfast. Of course, this was only for those eating plant-based breakfasts. Those who ate meat, eggs or dairy for breakfast were the heaviest--even heavier than those who skipped breakfast. Those who ate cooked cereals like oatmeal were the slimmest.[7]

REFERENCES

[7] Journal of The American College of Nutrition 22(August 2003):296.