The Breakfast and Waistline Connection

The Facts

Is breakfast the most important meal of your day? or are you one of those who generally skips breakfast or grabs a coffee?

Studies continue to prove that while a good breakfast is essential for children it is also important for adults to be at their best the whole day.

Further, recent studies have also proved that a good breakfast is very essential especially if one is looking towards reducing weight in a healthy manner. People usually skip breakfast thinking they're reducing calories, but as the day progresses most of them nibble on snacks and quite a few even binge for the rest of the day thereby increasing the intake of calories.

The Truth

• On the other hand studies suggest that starting the day with breakfast is an important strategy to lose and maintain weight.


• A group of researchers analyzed data of over 2000 teenage girls and found that girls who had regular breakfast had fewer weight problems than the ones who had irregular breakfast. Those who were had irregular breakfast had a 13% higher risk of being overweight compared to ones who had regular breakfast.


• Another research studied two groups of obese women over a 3 months period. One group followed a 1400 calories a day diet of which 700 calories were consumed at breakfast and 500 at lunch and 200 at dinner and the other group consumed large calories at dinner.


• By the end of the study the group that had “big breakfast” had lost an average of 17.8 pounds each (3 inches waistline) and the group that had “big dinner” lost an average of 7.3 pounds (1.4 inches waistline).


• Apart from this, the “big breakfast” group also had controlled insulin and glucose levels and helped in maintaining the blood pressure.


• Breakfast sets the metabolism rate for the day. When you skip breakfast, you are actually fasting for over 15 hours, so you would not be producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight.


• If you are trying to lose weight, the last thing you want to do is keep your metabolism at this lowered state.


• The bottom line is a good breakfast is essential when wanting to loose weight.

What Constitutes a Good Breakfast!

Breakfast doesn’t need to be extravagant, a healthy breakfast usually includes

• Whole grains
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Low-fat dairy and
• Low-fat protein
• Peanut butter, eggs, low-fat milk/yogurt and fruits are good choices.
• An example of a healthy breakfast might be a boiled egg, an orange, and a bowl of whole grain cereal with low-fat milk.
• To lose weight in a healthy way, one should adopt a good meal schedule so that all the required nutrients are covered periodically rather than just starving oneself unhealthily.
• Smart breakfast is better than big breakfast and grabbing a sandwich while in a rush or a late night snack is a big no.

A good breakfast benefits not only helps in reducing and maintaining you waistline but also makes you energetic through the day, helps in better concentration and thinking and reduces risk of certain diseases. It is the most important refuel point for your body and brain.

The old quote that says “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper” holds very true, even to the one trimming their waistline.