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You are here: Home / Science & Technology / Your Mother Was Right

Your Mother Was Right

by John Cole|  September 9, 200510:28 am| 18 Comments

This post is in: Science & Technology

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Don’t skip breakfast:

Girls who regularly ate breakfast, particularly one that includes cereal, were slimmer than those who skipped the morning meal, according to a study that tracked nearly 2,400 girls for 10 years.

Girls who ate breakfast of any type had a lower average body mass index, a common obesity gauge, than those who said they didn’t. The index was even lower for girls who said they ate cereal for breakfast, according to findings of the study conducted by the Maryland Medical Research Institute. The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health and cereal-maker General Mills.

“Not eating breakfast is the worst thing you can do, that’s really the take-home message for teenage girls,” said study author Bruce Barton, the Maryland institute’s president and CEO.

The fiber in cereal and healthier foods that normally accompany cereal, such as milk and orange juice, may account for the lower body mass index among cereal eaters, Barton said.

I guess this proves conclusively what dieticians and parents have been telling us for years.

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18Comments

  1. 1.

    Taylor

    September 9, 2005 at 10:32 am

    It may only be a loose correlation, but: Americans are really the only Western country that eats a solid breakfast; and America has the best workers and the lowest unemployment of any Western industrialized nation.

    Food (perhaps breakfast) for thought.

  2. 2.

    Doctor Gonzo

    September 9, 2005 at 10:37 am

    It may only be a loose correlation, but: Americans are really the only Western country that eats a solid breakfast…

    I don’t think I agree with that at all. I have been to Europe several times, and breakfast there is a big deal, something you don’t miss. Generally, the food is healthier too, consisting of hard rolls, toast, some meat, etc., not really any sugary cereal.

  3. 3.

    hrun

    September 9, 2005 at 10:47 am

    Well, Taylor has got something right: This may just be a loose correlation. Eating a breakfast may or may not be healthy for you. And cereals may or may not contribute to a lower body mass index.

    The point is, the people who have regular meals may be the same people who do have regular meal schedules, who do not rely on snacks or fast food at times when they are desperately hungry, who do not overeat, … So, folks who want to lose weight should not delude themselves that the addition of a breakfast to their eating schedule will miraculously shed thse excess pounds.

    In addition, Taylor, do you have any facts to back up your assertion thhat Americans are the only Western country that eats a solid breakfast? Or any measure that America has the best workers? And for that matter, maybe you have some data to back up the ‘lowest unemployment’ of any Western industrialized nation? As far as I know my statistics, there are quite a few European countries that like the US hover at around 5% and some that have unemployement rates in the 3% range.

  4. 4.

    TallDave

    September 9, 2005 at 10:56 am

    My gut reaction (haha!) is “What a load of crap.” This immediately brought to mind the study that found half of all studies are wrong.

    A study by a cereal manufacturer finds eating cereal is good for you. Hmmmm. Didn’t we used to get Tobacco Institute studies that said smoking was good for you?

  5. 5.

    TallDave

    September 9, 2005 at 10:59 am

    Bad methodology, too. Has anyone considered that maybe the girls who skipped breakfast did so because they were trying to lose weight? Overweight people are obviously more likely to diet.

    A better study would track whether those who ate breakfast were gained/lost more weight vs. those who didn’t.

  6. 6.

    Rusty Shackleford

    September 9, 2005 at 11:02 am

    Taylor, have you ever been anywhere outside of the U.S.? I swear your post was cribbed from a rant by Red Forman on That 70s Show.

    TallDave, let me guess – you think Intelligent Design is legitimate and global warming is a myth, right?

  7. 7.

    TallDave

    September 9, 2005 at 11:10 am

    Rusty,

    No and no. Let me guess: you believed all those Tobacco Institute studies.

  8. 8.

    TallDave

    September 9, 2005 at 11:14 am

    Actually, since you mention it, I just participated in a pretty lengthy and interesting discussion at Dean’s World, arguing against ID on the basis it’s generally nonfalsifiable.

  9. 9.

    ppGaz

    September 9, 2005 at 11:27 am

    Always great to see Tall Dave have an opportunity to pimp his productions. But serially, folks …..

    I thought you guys ate babies for breakfast?

    Or did I misunderstand, yesterday?

    BTW, ID is obsolete. I’m replacing it with LGF. In the LGF model, Little Green Fairies are responsible for the complexity of life and natural systems on our planet. LGF is superior to ID because it supplies adorable little figures as the progenitors, not some abstract concept.

    Discuss.

  10. 10.

    TallDave

    September 9, 2005 at 11:44 am

    ppGaz,

    Are those the same fairies that make socialism economically viable?

  11. 11.

    Krista

    September 9, 2005 at 11:53 am

    Eating breakfast might help, but the fact that most kids now just sit on their asses all day long might negate that. I saw a man the other day, very heavily overweight, with two kids, probably about 5 and 3. And they were very overweight as well. I’m not talking about a bit of baby fat. These children had extra chins. It just makes me sad, ’cause I figure they don’t have a hope in hell to be healthy adults.

  12. 12.

    ppGaz

    September 9, 2005 at 12:09 pm

    Are those the same fairies that make socialism economically viable?

    I wouldn’t know, Dave. I haven’t observed that socialism is economically viable, but I’m sure with a little thought, you can turn even that non sequitur into yet another pimp of your products!

  13. 13.

    Krista

    September 9, 2005 at 2:00 pm

    HERE’S a question: why did they only study girls? Aren’t boys just as adversely affected by obesity?

  14. 14.

    Shygetz

    September 9, 2005 at 2:07 pm

    TallDave is absolutely right (on this occasion). Correlation does not prove causation. I haven’t read the study, but as it is written in the press articles, there aren’t controls to allow for any conclusion about causation. It could be that eating breakfast makes you skinny, or it could be that being skinny makes you more likely to eat breakfast. Insufficient data to tell the difference.

  15. 15.

    Shygetz

    September 9, 2005 at 2:08 pm

    Krista–limiting your study to only one sex is a common way to limit variables in human subjects studies.

  16. 16.

    Krista

    September 9, 2005 at 2:14 pm

    limiting your study to only one sex is a common way to limit variables in human subjects studies.

    Okay…that makes sense. It just made me wonder there for a second. It IS a pretty speculative study, though. Could it be that these more slender girls were active in sports, and were eating breakfast due to sheer hunger, brought on by their increased activity level? I do think it’s important to eat breakfast, and always have a bowl of cereal before I hit the gym, but it just seems like this study was pretty loosey-goosey. Of course, it could be that they did gather all of those other variables in data, but didn’t announce it in the media release for the sake of brevity.

  17. 17.

    Taylor Buley

    September 9, 2005 at 6:20 pm

    Countries I’ve lived in that eat a smaller breakfast than I am used to: Japan, Spain, Czech Republic

    Countries that I’ve visited that eat a smaller breakfast than I am used to: Slovakia, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Netherlands

    … do I have to go on? (I can.)

  18. 18.

    scs

    September 10, 2005 at 3:35 am

    Huh? Germans and Northern Europeans don’t eat a big breakfast? They used to when I was there like 10 years ago – cheese and bread and jam. Maybe its changed now though.

    By your methodology though, if we accept that we are the only country that eats a big breakfast, and we are the fattest country in the world, by conclusion eating breakfast makes you fat.

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