Eating a big breakfast helps you lose weight, according to science

Anyone fancy a full Irish, some fruit and maybe some pancakes?

A study has found that having a big breakfast helps burn twice as many calories and we’ve honestly never been happier. Apparently, people who eat a hefty brekkie burn two and a half times the amount of calories during the day.

The researchers explained that eating a big breakfast and small dinner increased diet-induced thermogenesis, which is responsible for burning calories in the body.

People who ate a small breakfast were more likely to crave a sugary snack shortly afterwards, so if you’re always reaching for the chocolate covered rice cakes at 9.30 am this could be why!

The researchers analysed the diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) of 16 men. They found that DIT was 2.5 times higher when the men ate in the morning time. The participants all had a normal BMI during the study. They were given prepared breakfasts, lunches and dinners over a three day period. Researchers then carried out tests after breakfast and dinner which led them to these findings.

Dr Juliane Richter commented on the study: “Our results show a meal eaten for breakfast – regardless of the amount of calories it contains – creates twice as high diet-induced thermogenesis as the same meal consumed for dinner. This finding is significant for all people as it underlines the value of eating enough at breakfast.”

She continued: “Eating more at breakfast instead of dinner could prevent obesity and high blood sugar. 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.”

Your metabolism is at its best in the morning ,which is why you should consume bigger portions at breakfast time.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Lubeck in Germany. It was published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.