Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.
A study has denied this famous formula popularized in the 20th century by the American nutritionist Adelle Davis.
Conducted by researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and published in the journal
Cell Metabolism
on Friday September 9, this work suggests that eating a very hearty breakfast would have little effect on overall weight loss.
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Similar weight loss
To arrive at this result, the scientific team asked 30 obese or overweight men and women (1) to follow two different diets, each for four weeks and with foods provided by the researchers.
During the first diet, the group consumed a high caloric intake in the morning, 40% of daily calories at breakfast and 20% at dinner.
For the second diet, the equation was reversed: the most important meal of the day in terms of calories ingested took place in the evening during dinner.
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Review of the races, in their conclusions, the researchers indicate that no difference was found between the two diets, either in terms of energy expenditure or weight loss.
On average, each of these experiments would have made it possible to burn 2,800 calories per individual but also to make them lose 3 kg.
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A role in satiety
If a hearty breakfast does not affect the way the body metabolizes calories, this meal, more than any other, can still help improve satiety and thus reduce the appetite for rest of the day, nuance Professor Alexandra Johnstone, in charge of this study.
In this sense, it could promote easier weight loss in reality, adds the researcher.
For the time being, the Scottish researchers hope to deepen their research further, and make longer-term observations.
The scientific team also wants to take an interest in intermittent fasting (voluntarily depriving yourself of food during certain time slots) in order to determine the best time of day to break your fast.
Listen to yourself and eat when you are hungry
In a previous article, health professionals also recalled the importance of a full breakfast to metabolize proteins and carbohydrates but also to avoid mid-morning fatigue and reduced alertness.
“In France, breakfast must be taken before the activities of the day.
This meal is certainly important but it is absolutely not essential before leaving for work”, underlined Monique Romon, doctor member of the French Society of Nutrition (SFN).
“When I am told in consultation that we are not used to eating in the morning, I do not change anything.
This is not a bad reflex if it has been adopted for a long time.
There will be no biological change if you don't have breakfast when you wake up,” said nutritionist Catherine Serfaty.
(1) The study, published in the journal
Cell Metabolism
, recruited 16 men and 14 women, with an average age of 50 and a BMI of 32.5.