Eating a big breakfast could help you burn double the amount of calories than if you eat a larger meal at dinner.
It could be the key to losing weight while also keeping blood sugar levels steady, researchers at Lübeck University in Germany said. Their study found filling up in the morning boosts a metabolism (新陈代谢) process known as diet-induced thermogenesis(DIT). DIT refers to the number of calories the body expends to heat the body and digest food. It was shown to be twice as high for those who ate more at breakfast than at dinner. On the other hand, a low-calorie breakfast increases appetite (食欲), especially for sweets, the researchers admitted.
The findings published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism were based on a laboratory experiment of 16 men. They consumed a low and high calorie breakfast and dinner one day—and then vice versa (反过来) on another. The study also showed increases in blood sugar and insulin concentrations, caused by eating a meal, was reduced after breakfast, but not so much after dinner. The results also showed eating a low-calorie breakfast caused sweet desires with a higher appetite. This suggests those saving all their calories for the end of the day may face consequences because they snack more.
The study adds to increasing evidence that the best way of losing weight is to eat your largest meal in the morning—and your smallest in the evening. Dr Richter, a neurobiologist at Lübeck University, said, "Eating more at breakfast instead of dinner could prevent obesity (肥胖) and high blood sugar." Both obesity and high blood sugar can lead to many life-threatening illnesses including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Previous research has shown DIT is lower in people with obesity. It's seen as a measure of how well our metabolism is working.
DIT can differ depending on mealtime and is generally slower in the evening and at night due to our body clocks. Dr Richter said, "We recommend that patients with obesity as well as healthy people eat a large breakfast rather than a large dinner to reduce body weight and prevent metabolic diseases."
Professor Daniela Jakubowicz, author of The Big Breakfast Diet, found that those who piled on the calories in the morning were more likely to feel satisfied, preventing snacking throughout the day. And another study by Professor Jakubowicz found that eating chocolate in the morning, when our metabolism is at its highest, prevented desires for sweet things later on.
