The new research shows that eating a high protein sausage and egg-based breakfast curbed hunger throughout the morning when compared to a calorie matched low-protein breakfast of pancakes and syrup or skipping breakfast.
Presented by principal investigator Kevin Maki of Biofortis Clinical Research at the The Obesity Society's annual scientific meeting in Atlanta, the research team noted that while many people consume enough protein overall, they tend to eat only small amounts at breakfast – with the largest consumption of protein coming at dinner later in the day.
"Many people choose to skip breakfast or choose low protein foods because of lack of high protein convenient choices,” said Heather Leidy, an assistant professor specialising in appetite regulation at the University of Missouri and a co-author on the study. “These results demonstrate that commercially prepared convenient protein-rich meals can help women feel full until lunch time and potentially avoid overeating and improve diet quality.”
Study details
All of the breakfast meals contained approximately 300 calories and similar quantities of fat and fiber – however the protein-rich breakfast contained 30 to 39 grams of protein. Participants completed questionnaires to rate aspects of appetite - such as hunger, fullness, and desire to eat - before breakfast and at 30 minute intervals between breakfast and lunch.
A standard lunch meal of tortellini and sauce was served and subjects were asked to eat until comfortably full.
The research team found that participants had improved appetite ratings (lower hunger, more fullness, less desire to eat)throughout the morning, and also ate fewer calories at lunch, after eating the protein-rich breakfast when compared with the low-protein breakfast and breakfast skipping.
"Eating a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and may help women to avoid overeating later in the day," concluded Maki.
Source: Presented at The Obesity Society's annual scientific
"Acute Satiety Effects of Sausage/Egg-based Convenience Breakfast Meals in Premenopausal Women"
The study was a joint effort by Biofortis Clinical Research, Chicago, a division of Mérieux NutriSciences, and the University of Missouri's Department of Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, Columbia, MO. Funding for the research was provided by Hillshire Brands, Chicago.