Key to staying slim, healthy is a bowl of wholegrain cereal for breakfast
Published on: Monday, 30th November 2009 08:03 AM
By 
Administrator
Skipping breakfast will be of no help if you want to stay fit, instead, a bowl of wholegrain cereal first thing in the morning can ensure a trim and healthy body, concludes a study.
Researchers have found that porridge or muesli in breakfast not only helps shed pounds but keeps them off too.
They have found that it stops people turning to fatty and sugary snacks later in the day.
One in five Britons has admitted that he or she skips breakfast, but researchers claim they are simply fooling themselves because the "starv ation behaviour" makes them more likely to eat biscuits, sweets and cakes during the day.
In fact, people who tuck into cereals packed with wholegrain and fibre in the morning are less likely to binge eat, said the researchers.
Studies have found these cereals protect against many diseases and help maintain the heart and healthy blood sugar levels and body weight.
One study has shown that a bowl of cereal for breakfast could reduce the risk of heart disease by a fifth.
Being low on the glycaemic index, wholegrains help to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity.
They also have a major role in keeping people feeling full.
"Those who skip breakfast generally have an overall less healthy diet. This means they eat snacks and tend not to eat enough fruit and veg," the Daily Express quoted Chris Seal, Professor of Food & Human Nutrition at Newcastle University, as saying.
Scientists at King's College London found that although people who eat cereals take in more calories overall than those who don't, they are more likely to have a normal body mass index, the indicator for obesity.
"We found evidence to support that those who skip breakfast have the highest intakes of fat and increased consumption of high-fat snacks," said Dr. Katrina Campbell from King's.
The report found evidence that skipping breakfast on a regular basis was associated with a 4.5 fold increased risk of obesity.
People who eat breakfast were found to eat more vegetables and tended to be leaner and less likely to gain weight over time.
Other studies reviewed, of more than 17,800 men, found that those who consumed breakfast cereals, regardless of type, consistently weighed less than those who ate them less often.
"There is good evidence that skipping breakfast or consuming an inadequate breakfast may contribute to an inadequate dietary intake. These dietary deficits are rarely replenished by other meals in the day.
"To take advantage of the potential benefits of breakfast it is important that a distinction is made between promoting a nutrient-rich, healthy breakfast choice, such as breakfast cereal, as opposed to simply promoting breakfast." Another study by researchers at Oxford Brookes University found that simply eating breakfast cereals for at least one meal a day led to significant and sustained weight loss," concluded the report's authors.
Source : DNA