New research confirms that eating eggs boosts a healthy weight loss plan
PARK RIDGE, Ill., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A study published online today in
the International Journal of Obesity shows that eating two eggs for breakfast,
as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps overweight adults lose more weight
and feel more energetic than those who eat a bagel breakfast of equal
calories.(i) This study supports previous research, published in the Journal
of the American College of Nutrition, which showed that people who ate eggs
for breakfast felt more satisfied and ate fewer calories at the following
meal.(ii)
'People have a hard time adhering to diets and our research shows that
choosing eggs for breakfast can dramatically improve the success of a weight
loss plan,' said Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, Ph.D., lead researcher and associate
professor in the laboratory of infection and obesity at Pennington Biomedical
Research Center, a campus of the Louisiana State University system.
'Apparently, the increased satiety and energy due to eggs helps people better
comply with a reduced-calorie diet.'
Significant Weight Loss Related to Egg Breakfast
Compared to the subjects who ate a bagel breakfast, men and women who
consumed two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet:
-- lost 65 percent more weight
-- exhibited a 61 percent greater reduction in BMI
-- reported higher energy levels than their dieting counterparts who
consumed a bagel breakfast (i)
The egg and bagel breakfasts provided the same number of calories and had
identical weights (energy density), which is an important control factor in
satiety and weight loss studies. The researchers also found that blood lipids
were not impacted during the two month study. They found that blood levels of
HDL and LDL cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, did not vary compared to
baseline cholesterol blood levels in subjects who ate either the bagel or egg
breakfasts. These findings add to more than 30 years of research that
conclude that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting
their risk of heart disease.
New Emphasis on the Importance of High-Quality Protein
This study adds to the growing body of research which supports the
importance of high-quality protein in the diet. The American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) published a special issue in May 2008, which
contains nine articles that focus on the value of high-quality protein in the
American diet. A major finding was that not getting enough high-quality
protein may contribute to obesity, muscle wasting (loss) and increased risk of
chronic disease.
