Having a high-protein breakfast including milk, eggs, <g data-gr-id="37">meat</g> and yogurt daily can reduce unhealthy weight gain among overweight teenagers, says a new study.
The researchers compared the benefits of consuming a <g data-gr-id="29">normal-protein</g> breakfast to a high-protein breakfast in overweight teenagers who would normally skip breakfast.
“This study examined if the type of breakfast consumed can improve weight management in young
people who habitually skip breakfast,” said lead author of the study Heather Leidy, assistant professor at <g data-gr-id="49">University</g> of Missouri in the US.
High-protein breakfast which contained 35 grams of protein — prevented gains of body fat, reduced daily food intake and feelings of hunger, and <g data-gr-id="39">stabilised</g> glucose levels, the findings showed.
For the study, the researchers fed two groups of overweight teenagers who reported skipping breakfast between five and seven times a week either <g data-gr-id="35">normal-protein</g> breakfast meals or high-protein breakfast meals.
A third group of teenagers continued to skip breakfast for 12 weeks.
The <g data-gr-id="30">normal-protein</g> breakfast meal was milk and cereal and contained 13 grams of protein. The high-protein breakfast meals contained 35 grams of protein.
“The group of teenagers who ate high-protein breakfasts reduced their daily food intake by 400 calories and lost body fat mass, while the groups who ate <g data-gr-id="32">normal-protein</g> breakfast or continued to skip breakfast gained additional body fat,” Leidy said.
“These results show that when individuals eat a high-protein breakfast, they voluntarily consume less food the rest of the day. In addition, teenagers who ate high-protein breakfast had more stable glucose levels than the other groups,” Leidy noted.
Large fluctuations in glucose levels are associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes among young people, which can make health complications associated with weight gain more intense.
The findings appeared in the International Journal of Obesity.