Italian version

Eating an abundant breakfast, even though it leads to a rise in the total calorie intake, increases energy expenditure and improves metabolism, thereby facilitating weight loss. This fact goes against the convictions of those who continue to believe in the usefulness of low calorie diets.

A study published on Pediatrics (Timlin MT et al, Pediatrics 2008 Mar;121(3):e638-45) reconfirmed what the GIFT diet has been upholding for some time. Eating an abundant breakfast shortly after awakening has a strong activating function on metabolism.

A 5-year study that monitored a group of over 2000 adolescents showed that, at the end of that period, those youths who ate breakfast had a BMI that was inversely proportional to the regularity of their consumption of breakfast.

This means that those youths who ate breakfast more regularly had a Body Mass Index that was decidedly lower compared to those who didn't eat breakfast.

What's so amazing about this study is that the association was independent of the quantity of food consumed. In other words: even if the meal was abundant, a loss in weight was always registered. The Minneapolis-based research group also noticed some other interesting associations: the group that ate breakfast ended up eating more fiber, performed more consistent physical activity and smoked a lot less than the other group.
The clear connection is that the effectiveness of breakfast within the context of a diet that stimulates metabolism, such as the GIFT diet, takes on its full worth and can hold its weight against the common belief that in order to lose weight (fat, that is) you must skip breakfast.

Italian version