A new research review published in the BMJ has added to the debate over the merits of breakfast. It has long been regarded as “the most important meal of the day” — and probably still is for growing children — but what about adults who are trying to lose weight?
The theory has been that eating breakfast headed off rebound eating later in the day and into the night. But the new review found that, for weight loss, eating breakfast tended to slow dieting results and could even lead to consuming more calories later in the day.
Delaying the first meal seems to keep the body in the fat-burning mode set in motion once you stop eating the night before. Having a daily 16-hour food gap is what can speed weight loss.
Contrast this with the findings of an earlier study published in the Journal of the Academy of
