High caloric intake at breakfast vs. dinner differentially influences weight loss of overweight and obese women.

Regular intake of high-calorie breakfast and low-calorie dinner may promote weight loss and improve the conditions of obese women with metabolic syndrome.

This study examined the effect of regular consumption of high calorie breakfast and dinner on weight loss in overweight women. Researchers assigned obese women with metabolic syndrome into 2 groups: the breakfast group and the dinner group. While the subjects in the breakfast group were placed on diets with calorie content of 700 kcal for breakfast, 500kcal for lunch, and 200kcal for dinner, those in the dinner group were fed with meals that contain 200kcal, 500kcal, and 700kcal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner respectively for 12weeks. The serum concentrations of fasting glucose, insulin, triglycerides, ghrelin, HOMA-IR, waist circumference, hunger scores, and satiety scores were measured in all the subjects before and after dietary intervention.

Researchers observed a higher percentage of weight loss and decrease in waist circumference in subjects in the breakfast group than in those in the dinner group. Members of the breakfast group had lower hunger scores and plasma triglyceride levels but higher satiety scores than subjects in the dinner group. According to this study, the plasma concentrations of fasting glucose, insulin, ghrelin, and HOMA-IR decreased in both groups, with greater reduction seen in the breakfast group. The findings of this study show that the consumption of a high-calorie breakfast and low-calorie dinner may help obese women with metabolic syndrome to lose weight and improve their metabolic health.