We’ve heard the saying ‘eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper’ before, but fear of piling on the pounds has often steer people away from starting the day with a plateful of food to rival that of Henry VIII.
But according to new research, a big breakfast may be exactly what we need to embrace in a bid towards tackling obesity.
The study showed that eating a full breakfast results in overweight people becoming more active throughout the day, in turn burning calories and increasing fitness levels.
The study conducted by researchers at the University of Bath looked into habits of individuals classed as ‘obese’ and found that, compared to those fasting in the morning, the breakfast-eaters were more likely to partake in physical activity in the morning, and then consume less food throughout the day.
The sample that fasted in the morning also overall ate a similar amount in total each day as those who indulged, showing that skipping the meal to reduce overall food intake proves a futile attempt.
While the hearty start to the day didn’t see the breakfasting sample lose weight, increasing day-to-day movement and exercise is crucial to overall health, especially in our increasingly desk-bound lifestyles.
Lead researcher behind the study, Dr James Betts explains:
"Despite many people offering opinions about whether or not you should eat breakfast, to date there has been a lack of rigorous scientific evidence showing how, or whether, breakfast might cause changes in our health. Our studies highlight some of these impacts, but "how important" breakfast is still really depends on the individual and their own personal goals.
"For example, if weight loss is the key there is little to suggest that just having breakfast or skipping it will matter. However, based on other markers of a healthy lifestyle, like being more active or controlling blood sugar levels, then there's evidence that breakfast may help."
Breakfast has long been championed as the most important meal of the day, with plentiful research to back up the claim.
A 2015 study showed a strong link between eating a breakfast daily and stronger educational results, as student who ate it daily came out with Teacher Assessment scores as much as twice as high as kids who skipped the first meal of the day.
Need more convincing?
Previous studies have also shown that protein rich breakfasts both reduced unhealthy snacking throughout the day and prevents body fat gain in overweight teens.
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