Kids need to eat breakfast to fuel their bodies for the day ahead and now, a new study has revealed the best way to get your kids off to a good and healthy start.
The University of Pennsylvania researchers, led by Tanja Kral, concluded that a breakfast high in protein, like eggs, keeps children fuller longer than cereal or oatmeal, causing them to eat fewer calories at lunch. The study also noted that the effects of a protein-rich meal don't last throughout the day. It only impacts a mid-day meal.
According to the research, after consuming the egg breakfast (scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, diced peaches, and one percent milk) child participants reduced their energy intake at lunch by seventy calories. That's roughly equivalent to one small chocolate-chip cookie.
Kral said that according to the children's reports, eating the egg breakfast didn't make them feel fuller than cereal or oatmeal, even though they ate less for lunch. "We expected that the reduced lunch intake would be accompanied by lower levels of hunger and greater fullness after eating the high protein breakfast, but this wasn't the case."
The study is recently published in Eating Behaviors.