Scientists Find Eating a High-Carb Breakfast Promotes Long-term Weight Loss

Written by Sandra Emmi


There may be truth in the old adage, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”

A recent study conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University found that women who eat substantial breakfasts that include carbohydrates lose more weight, and keep it off longer, than those who follow high-protein, low-carb diets.

The research, which was headed up by Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz of the Hospital de Clinicas in Venezuela, showed that women who consumed about half their calories at a breakfast of protein and carbohydrates experienced less food cravings throughout the day, and were satisfied with smaller portions of food at lunch and dinner.

The results of this research were not what you might expect, given all of the research over the past few years demonizing carbohydrates and blaming them for the increase in cases of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

Although those on high-protein diets lost slightly more weight than those who ate a big breakfast initially, by eight months the high-protein group had gained most of the weight they lost back. Yet the high-carb breakfast group not only kept off the weight they lost, they actually continued to lose weight. The surprising result: Women who ate high carbohydrate breakfasts lost over 20 percent of their total body weight, while those on the strict low-carbohydrate diets lost only 5 percent of their total body weight despite the fact that the low-carb group consumed fewer calories each day.

All participants in the study were obese and did not exercise, so activity levels had no affect on their individual outcomes.