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Eating breakfast does not increase weight loss, according to a new study published in the BMJ. In addition, when compared with people who did eat breakfast, the authors found that individuals who did not eat breakfast were less likely to over-eat later in the day.

“This study came about because in the clinic I saw a lot of patients with osteoarthritis who were obese, who went on to seek advice on what to do regarding their weight, and almost invariably these patients were told they need to eat breakfast,” explains corresponding author Flavia Cicuttini. “Some of these patients complained that they were struggling to eat breakfast because they did not feel hungry — it never made sense to me that we should be asking people to eat when they are not hungry.”

Data from observational studies that investigated breakfast eating and obesity suggest that breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight than non-breakfast eaters and that eating breakfast protects against weight gain. In these studies, however, it was not possible to determine whether breakfast eating or an individual’s wider healthy lifestyle resulted in weight loss. “Randomized controlled trials take into account lifestyle factors, which means data from these studies are stronger than data from observational studies,” adds Circuttini.

In the present systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, Circuttini and her team found that people who ate breakfast tended to eat ~260 extra calories per day more than those who did not eat breakfast. In addition, when compared with non-breakfast eaters, breakfast eaters gained an average of 0.44 kg more body mass during the follow-up period (mean follow-up 7 weeks; range 2–16 weeks). Importantly, there was no evidence to suggest that eating breakfast resulted in improvements to metabolism.

people who ate breakfast tended to eat ~260 extra calories per day more than those who did not eat breakfast

“The key message of the study is that that if a person likes to eat breakfast, that is fine,” concludes Circuttini. “However, there is no evidence to suggest that we should be encouraging people to change their eating pattern to include breakfast in order to prevent weight gain.”