Eating foods rich in protein such as eggs and meat for breakfast can significantly improve appetite control and reduce unhealthy snacking in the evening, a new study has found.
Heather Leidy, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, University of Missouri-Columbia is the first to examine the impact of breakfast consumption on daily appetite and evening snacking in young people who habitually skip breakfast.
In her study, 20 overweight or obese adolescent females ages 18-20 either skipped breakfast, consumed a high-protein breakfast consisting of eggs and lean beef, or ate a normal-protein breakfast of ready-to-eat cereal.
Every breakfast consisted of 350 calories and was matched for dietary fat, fibre, sugar and energy density. The high-protein breakfast contained 35 grams of protein.
Participants completed questionnaires and provided blood samples throughout the day. Prior to dinner, a brain scan using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to track brain signals that control food motivation and reward-driven eating behaviour.
The consumption of the high-protein breakfast led to increased fullness or "satiety" along with reductions in brain activity that is responsible for controlling food cravings.
The high-protein breakfast also reduced evening snacking on high-fat and high-sugar foods compared to when breakfast was skipped or when a normal protein, ready-to-eat cereal breakfast was consumed, Leidy said.
"Eating a protein-rich breakfast impacts the drive to eat later in the day, when people are more likely to consume high-fat or high-sugar snacks," Leidy said.
"These data suggest that eating a protein-rich breakfast is one potential strategy to prevent overeating and improve diet quality by replacing unhealthy snacks with high quality breakfast foods," Leidy said in a statement.
People who normally skip breakfast might be sceptical about consuming food in the morning, but Leidy said it only takes about three days for the body to adjust to eating early in the day.
Study participants ate egg and beef-based foods such as burritos or egg-based waffles with applesauce and a beef sausage patty as part of a high-protein breakfast; Leidy also suggested eating plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or ground pork loin as alternatives to reach the 35 grams of protein.
The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
