In this study, presented at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) 2012 Annual Meeting & Food Expo, researchers found that nearly one fifth of Americans older than age 2 regularly skip breakfast. As a result, they miss a lot of key nutrients. Earlier studies showed that people who have breakfast regularly obtain 17 percent of necessary calories in addition to key nutrients such as Vitamin D (58 percent), Vitamin B12 (42 percent) and Vitamin A (41 percent) from that meal.

In addition, studies of young people found that breakfast-skippers consume 40 percent more sweets, 55 percent more soft drinks, 45 percent fewer vegetables and 30 percent less fruit than people who eat breakfast.

“Most of these negative factors were abbreviated when breakfast was consumed, compared with breakfast-skippers,” said Heather Leidy, PhD, assistant professor in the department of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri. “Targeting that behavior could lead to a reduction in obesity.”

In this study, Leidy focused on the role of the proteins consumed in breakfast and found that skipping this meal can negatively affect the body all day long. The study involved 10 teenagers who were split into groups that consumed no breakfast, a normal-protein breakfast and a high-protein breakfast. By measuring their hunger levels and several other indicators, Leidy found that eating a healthy breakfast of any kind lead to more satiety and less overeating throughout the day, but these benefits were especially prominent among the teens who ate the high-protein breakfast. They consumed about 200 calories less in evening snacking, she said.

Participants were scanned using brain MRI, and researchers found that a protein-rich breakfast reduces the brain signals controlling food desires, even many hours after breakfast.