Contrary to popular belief, going without the first meal of the day will not help you slim

When summer arrives we start to think of the beach, and operation bikini begins. We head to the shops to buy our swim suits and horror strikes as we look in the mirror! Over the winter the pounds have piled on, hidden under trousers and jumpers and immediately we think of slimming and crash diets, but perhaps we should be thinking of the longer term.

The best start to any slimming plan is a well balanced, healthy breakfast. This has been confirmed by a study carried out by the University of Minnesota. The USA has seen the number of overweight adolescents increase threefold over the last 20 years, to around 16 per cent of girls and 10 per cent of boys. But Spain has no reason to be complacent; over 17 per cent of children are overweight with high levels of fat.

The Minnesota study followed over 2,000 children between the ages of 14 and 19 for five years. Their conclusion was that those children who ate a regular breakfast were less likely to gain weight and had a healthier Body Mass Index or BMI (ratio of body fat to weight). Children, who missed breakfast weighed, on average, 2.3 kilos more, had a higher BMI, a greater propensity to gain weight later in life. Among the girls, 25 per cent who missed breakfast ate nothing until the evening meal. Boys who ate breakfast ate more carbohydrates and fibre and, interestingly, although they consumed more daily calories, actually weighed less over the years and had more energy.

So, what is the ideal breakfast? According to the experts breakfast should contain 25 per cent of all necessary nutrients and be varied including foods such as cereals, bread, dairy produce, fruits or juices, marmalades or jam and even some cold meats.

Obesity is an increasing problem in the more affluent countries and a new campaign from the Ministry of Health aimed at children says “Wake up, have breakfast, for health and energy”. It seems clear that there is a relationship between that important first meal and obesity. With the problem increasing daily and children becoming less active, the likelihood of obesity related illness in later life grows. A good breakfast could help stem the tide.

Regards