The research: Among roughly 300 overweight or obese adults trying to drop a few pounds, those who ate breakfast every day for 16 weeks lost no more weight than those who skipped their morning meal. (That study was produced by a large cohort of American researchers.) A separate UK study—this one involving lean adults—found eating breakfast was associated with more physical activity, but that a morning feast didn’t have any effect on the breakfast eater’s metabolism (a.k.a., her body’s ability to burn calories). What it means: For the most part, studies that suggest eating breakfast can help you lose weight are “observational”—meaning they show a link between breakfast and lower body weight, but no evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship between the two, explains David Allison, PhD, a professor of nutrition at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and co-author of the first study. There is evidence that eating breakfast can improve your morning energy levels, which will allow you to stay active without wearing out. But that doesn’t mean you will be active, or that eating breakfast somehow helps your body burn more calories, explains James A. Betts, PhD, co-author of the UK study. The bottom line: It would be great if eating more in the morning could whisk away your excess weight. Unfortunately, there’s not much real-world evidence backing that up, Allison says. “As boring as it may be, the most important aspect of dietary behavior for weight loss is the amount of calories you consume,” Allison adds. There’s evidence that swapping the calories you would normally consume at dinner for a bigger breakfast may have weight loss benefits. But simply tacking on a morning meal to your daily food intake won’t help you lose weight. More from Prevention: 7 Ways To Lose Weight In 7 Days
