Having two breakfasts is better than having none when it comes to staying slim. New research suggests that eating breakfast at school may significantly lower the risk of becoming over weight.
The latest findings held true even among students who have already had breakfast at home, according to Yale researchers. Researchers asid the latest findings go against arguments suggesting that free breakfast programs at school will boost the risk of obesity in kids.
The latest study involved 584 middle school students from 12 randomly selected schools in a medium-sized urban school district where breakfast and lunch were provided to all students at no cost. Researchers monitored the students from fifth grade to seventh grade.
Study results revealed that students who skipped or ate breakfast inconsistently were twice as likely to have weight problems compared to those who consistently ate two breakfasts.
Researchers noted that the study revealed no significant weight changes from fifth- to seventh-grade for students who ate double breakfasts.
"Results from the longitudinal analyses revealed that there was an increased odds of overweight/obesity among frequent skippers compared with double breakfast eaters after adjusting for school, year and students' race/ethnicity. Weight changes from year to year were similar between double breakfast eaters and other students," researchers wrote in the study.
Researchers said the latest findings go against the ongoing debate that having breakfast at home and then again at school will increase the risk of becoming overweight or obese.
"Our study does not support those concerns," explained senior study author Jeannette Ickovics, director of Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) at the Yale School of Public Health, according to a university release. "Providing a healthy breakfast to students at school helps alleviate food insecurity and is associated with students maintaining a healthy weight."
Breakfast consumption has been linked to many benefits and has been shown to improve grades, weight and health in kids.
"Concerns that a second breakfast at school increases risk of excessive weight gain are unsupported. Students who regularly consumed breakfasts at school, including double breakfast eaters, were more likely to exhibit a healthy weight trajectory. Additional research is needed to understand the impact of universal school breakfast on students' overall diets," researchers concluded.
"When it comes to the relationship between school breakfast and body weight, our study suggests that two breakfasts are better than none," said co-researcher Marlene Schwartz of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut.
The findings are published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.
