WASHINGTON — Dieters have long been told to eat a good breakfast.
However, teams of American and British researchers say it may not make a big difference.
They followed groups of volunteers — some who ate breakfast, some who did not — and found neither group lost more than the other.
The results of their studies are published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and could change how we look at that morning meal.
In one study, scientists at the University of Alabama and other institutions followed 300 dieters for about 16 weeks.
One-third were told to always eat breakfast, a third skipped it, and the rest were part of a control group that was instructed to follow their regular routine.
When they weighed in at the end of the study, there was no difference in weight loss — a sign that eating breakfast is not a magic pill for dropping pounds.
In Britain, researchers at the University of Bath conducted a smaller study using volunteers with no weight problems. Again, there was no difference in weight loss.
But, unlike the Americans, the British scientists had the people in their study wear activity trackers. They founded breakfast eaters moved more and had steadier blood sugar levels throughout the day, perhaps offsetting the calories in that morning meal.
More research is needed, but for now, it seems if you don’t like breakfast, you don’t have to eat it. However, you could be a little more sluggish early in the day.
James Betts, the author of the British study, says he is not a breakfast fan at all.
He tells the New York Times that was part of his motivation for doing this research. Everyone told him he needed to eat in the morning. Based on his results, he’s not changing his ways.
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