Teenagers who regularly eat breakfast tend to weigh less, exercise more and eat a more healthy diet than those who skip breakfast. Researchers in America tracked the diet, weight and other lifestyle patterns of 2,216 adolescents, who were just under 15 years old at the outset, for five years. It was found that the more regularly the teenagers ate breakfast, the lower was their body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure of body weight relative to height. Those who always skipped breakfast on average weighed about 2.3 kg more than the teenagers who ate the meal every day. This could be attributed to the fact that by filling their bellies in the morning, breakfast eaters could control their appetite better throughout the day, and thus prevent food binges at lunch or dinner. It was also found that children who ate breakfast frequently, and especially every day, were healthier in terms of their overall lifestyle. They were much more physically active and had a better diet, comprising a lower fat intake, lower cholesterol intake and higher fibre intake. The findings, thus, suggest that people who regularly skip a meal are fatter than those who eat it regularly. But a lot also depends on choosing the meal correctly, for example, young people should not grab a chocolate-coated doughnut for breakfast or any other meal. They should make healthy choices, for example, team up ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, which are high in sugar, but also rich in fibre and nutrients, with low-fat milk and maybe some fruit or fruit juice. Future studies should further examine the role of breakfast habits among youth who are particularly concerned about their weight.
Pediatrics,
March 2008