Eating a protein-rich breakfast reduces hunger, boosts satiety and reduces brain responses involved with food cravings more than a typical breakfast that is lower in protein, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The findings also suggest eating a protein-rich breakfast reduces unhealthy evening snacking.
Researchers at the University of Missouri examined whether a high-protein (HP) compared with a normal-protein (NP) breakfast leads to daily improvements in appetite, satiety, food motivation and reward, and evening snacking in overweight or obese breakfast-skipping girls.
The study measured the effects of eating either a high-protein breakfast that included eggs and beef (containing 35 g of protein), a ready-to-eat cereal breakfast with less than half the protein (13 g of protein), but equal amount of calories (350 calories), or no breakfast for seven days, in overweight teenage girls who typically skip breakfast.
Participants who consumed breakfast meals that included protein-rich eggs and beef, which contained 40% protein, 40% carbohydrate and 20% fat, reported greater feelings of fullness compared to those who ate a cereal-based breakfast which contained 15% protein, 65% carbohydrate and 20% fat. The higher-protein breakfast also led to significant improvements in daily hunger and satiety hormone levels, reduced food cravings prior to dinner (as shown from reduced neural activation) and resulted in consumption of fewer high-fat evening snacks than skipping breakfast.
The researchers said data suggest the addition of breakfast, particularly one rich in protein, might be a useful strategy to improve satiety, reduce food motivation and reward, and improve diet quality in overweight or obese teenage girls.
