{"id":33870,"date":"2023-09-29T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/661c9acf-d722-4ea6-bf36-61c26dab122b"},"modified":"2023-09-29T06:46:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T04:46:13","slug":"can-eating-dessert-for-breakfast-actually-help-you-lose-weight-a-scientist-explains","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/can-eating-dessert-for-breakfast-actually-help-you-lose-weight-a-scientist-explains\/","title":{"rendered":"Can eating dessert for breakfast actually help you lose weight? A scientist explains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eating a high carbohydrate and high protein breakfast may help you lose weight, according to some studies. <\/p>

By Dr Emma Davies\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 29 September 2023 at 03:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

It\u2019s surprisingly hard to say whether devouring a dessert at breakfast actually helps with weight loss. The most reported research comes from a team led by endocrinologist\u00a0Prof\u00a0Daniela Jakubowicz<\/a> at Tel Aviv University in Israel.<\/p>

In 2012,\u00a0her team\u00a0published a study of 193 people on a calorie-controlled diet who consumed either a low-carbohydrate breakfast or one with high protein and high carbohydrate, including a sweet treat such as a piece of cake or a doughnut.<\/p>

After 16 weeks, the low-carb group started to regain weight while the breakfast treat group lost a few more kilos<\/a>. The scientists reported that people in the treat group were more likely to stick to their diets, possibly because the foods lost some of their \u2018reward value\u2019.<\/p>

The morning dessert also appeared to reduce levels of the hunger hormone<\/a> ghrelin and so cut food cravings. In a later book,\u00a0The Big\u00a0Breakfast\u00a0Diet<\/em>, Jakubowicz explained that the hormones that control appetite, energy and metabolism vary naturally around the clock. She prescribed an early protein-packed breakfast\u00a0with\u00a0a sweet treat, followed by a carb-free lunch and dinner\u00a0with no\u00a0sweets.<\/p>

Testing whether such diets work is difficult because people tend to lie about what they eat and trials don\u2019t generally last long enough to see true results.\u00a0Although\u00a0there is some evidence that consuming more of a calorie-controlled diet<\/a> early in the day results in greater weight loss, according to a 2022 review by Isabel Young and colleagues at the University of Sydney in Australia. The human body has \u2018metabolically evolved\u2019 to consume more calories earlier in the day, they said.<\/p>

While a central circadian rhythm is responsible for regulating sleep<\/a>, body temperature and melatonin production, peripheral rhythms cover metabolic hormones such as insulin and ghrelin. <\/p>

Should you eat breakfast?<\/strong><\/h2>

Eating more earlier in the day may help to synchronise the circadian rhythms, so that we feel more in tune with ourselves, they suggested. They also highlighted data showing improvements in blood sugar levels and cholesterol with morning eating.<\/p>

Meanwhile, a UK review led by\u00a0Dr\u00a0Suzana Almoosawi at the University of Newcastle concluded that we still\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0understand whether energy should be distributed equally across the day<\/a>, or whether breakfast should provide most\u00a0of it. Evidence from human studies appears to indicate that it\u2019s harder to feel full as the day goes on, potentially hinting at\u00a0a need to consume a greater proportion of energy earlier in the day, they said.<\/p>

When they analysed data from the UK\u2019s official National Diet and Nutrition Survey, they found that high-carb eaters, who also consumed more between 6am and 9am than moderate-\u00a0or low-carb eaters, appeared to be the healthiest.\u00a0<\/p>

But\u00a0they pointed out that those on low-carb diets may simply have turned to fat or alcohol as replacements. Which just goes to show how difficult it is to study human diet.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>