Eating breakfast may help keep you from getting fat and making poor food choices (Photo: Angela de Março via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Skipping breakfast sets the brain up to make poor food choices later in the day, according to a new study.
Scientists from the MRC Clinical Science Centre at London’s Imperial College, compared the brain scans and eating patterns of people both after eating breakfast and when they were fasting.
They found that those who avoid breakfast may overeat throughout the rest of the day, often choosing high-calorie or junk food over healthier selections.
The researchers studied the magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 21 volunteer test subjects who didn’t eat anything before coming in for their tests. On one those visits, the volunteers were first given a 750-calorie breakfast before the researchers ran the MRI scans.
On another visit to the research center, the test subjects weren’t fed any breakfast, but were always served lunch after each scanning session.
“Through both the participants’ MRI results and observations of how much they ate at lunch, we found ample evidence that fasting made people hungrier, and increased the appeal of high-calorie foods and the amount people ate,” said Dr. Tony Goldstone, who led the study.
Researchers believe the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex (highlighted in this MRI image) might play a key role in influencing food choices. (MRI Image: Paul Wicks via Wikimedia Commons)
While examining the MRIs of volunteers who hadn’t eaten breakfast, the scientists found a variation in the pattern of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, that’s the area of the brain located right above the eyes that can affect decisions concerning the appeal and reward value of food.
When participants who were fasting or didn’t eat any breakfast were shown pictures of high-calorie food, the MRIs showed that that portion of the brain was “activated,” a reaction less strong when they had eaten breakfast.
After studying and comparing the MRI scans over a period of time, the researchers were able to use the brain scans to predict which of their test subjects would be the mostly likely to respond strongly to high-calorie foods.
To Goldstone and his colleagues, these findings suggest the orbitofrontal cortex may play a key role in influencing people in making their food choices.
They also say their research complements previous studies that show fasting may not be the best way to lose weight, since doing so tends to create a “bias” in the brain that makes us seek a high-calorie food reward.
Nutritionists recommend foods with protein (eggs/lean meat), whole grains, and fruits or vegetables, for a healthy breakfast (Photo: Kenji Ross via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Eating a healthy breakfast doesn’t necessarily mean sitting down to a formal meal or even eating traditional breakfast foods like cereals or eggs.
You can mix up the food items you want to eat for breakfast and that could also include eating some of those tasty leftovers from the previous night’s dinner.
Here are some tips and suggestions on healthy breakfast choices from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:
- Include some lean protein, such as eggs, cheese, deli meat, peanut butter, Canadian bacon or yogurt
- Pair that lean protein with a whole-grain carbohydrate food, such as a whole-grain cereal, bread, waffles, pancakes or oatmeal
- Be sure to include fruits and vegetables to your breakfast Top off yogurt with some fruit or chop up some veggies to add to your omelet
- To save time, nutritionists suggest prepping breakfast the night before
Science World is VOA’s on-air and online magazine covering science, health, technology and the environment.
8 Responses to “Skipping Breakfast Prompts Brain to Make Poor Food Choices”
Well, we’ve been hearing this for years. But what about people, like me, who do not get hungry at all until around 11am. It’s not fasting if you’re not hungry is it?
Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day. That’s why it’s called “breakfast” because you have to break the fasting and not a “fastbreak”.
This has, of course, been believed, accepted, and practiced since time immemorial, where food was available.
It is my experience that people who say they do not or have never eaten breakfast because they are not hungry, have poor habits like … eating late, smoking and drinking coffee when they first wake up….. When a person has their largest meal at around 6:PM and do not smoke or drink coffee are usually breakfast eaters….
Never smoked in my life, rarely drink coffee or anything else with caffeine and drink alcohol approximately 6 times per year for birthdays/outings. It is my experience that people make pronouncements about people they know nothing about in a sanctimonious fashion and that sometimes people just do not, ever get hungry till after 10am. Oh, and I also rise at 5.30am most mornings, not that it matters.
Should have read 11 am,t trying to type three things at once.
Are we supposed to force ourselves to eat breakfast when we don`t have an appetite? how many of us working class have time for a well balanced meal before leaving the house anyway?
Breakfast is the most important. You wouldn’t start your car without gas in the morning.