Go Ahead, Researchers Say, Skip Breakfast To Lose Weight

Researchers, nutritionists and even governments have bought into the hypothesis that skipping breakfast leads to a waterslide-fast descent into obesity. The notion probably gained traction because many scientists relied heavily on observational studies linking breakfast skipping to weight gain, ignoring evidence from randomized controlled studies. Researchers at a New York City hospital, however, recently conducted a small clinical trial. Three groups of participants ate either a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of cornflakes, or nothing at 8:30 every morning for four weeks. The only group that lost weight by the end of the study was the group that skipped breakfast. The researchers hope their findings might have an impact on upcoming federal nutritional guidelines.