New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), challenges the common notion that eating breakfast is one of the key ways to lose weight. They have been previously critical of the past studies that suggested this link, claiming that previous research projects have failed to contribute any new knowledge to the area and contained a biased research reporting.

“The field of obesity and weight loss is full of commonly held beliefs that have not been subjected to rigorous testing; we have now found that one such belief does not seem to hold up when tested,” senior investigator David Allison, director of the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center, said in a university news release. “This should be a wake-up call for all of us to always ask for evidence about the recommendations we hear so widely offered.”

Published in the journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers recruited 309 overweight and obese adults between the ages of 20 and 65. The participants had no health defects. Each participant was randomly told to eat breakfast or skip the meal. The control group was given healthy nutrition information, but no specific instructions about breakfast. Individuals who ate breakfast and did not eat breakfast were part of this control group

The researchers analyzed the effects of eating or skipping breakfast on weight loss. They also examined how changing breakfast habits could influence efforts to drop unwanted pounds. 

“Previous studies have mostly demonstrated correlation, but not necessarily causation,” study author Emily Dhurandhar, an assistant professor in UAB's department of health behavior, said in the news release. “In contrast, we used a large, randomized, controlled trial to examine whether or not breakfast recommendations have a causative effect on weight loss, with weight change as our primary outcome.”

After the 16 weeks of experimental trials, the researchers found that weight loss was not influenced when comparing individuals who regularly consumed breakfast with individuals who regularly skipped breakfast.

This is the first study to re-evaluate the eating habits of a healthy, balanced, diet.

Additional Resource:

The Breakfast Debate: New Study Determines Whether It Helps with Weight Loss