Protein-rich breakfast boosts satiety and concentration.

Study explores the link between diet and cognitive function, and the results reveal that a protein-rich breakfast can increase satiety and improve concentration
Study explores the link between diet and cognitive function, and the results reveal that a protein-rich breakfast can increase satiety and improve concentration

A new Danish study has explored the link between diet and cognitive function, and the results reveal that a protein-rich breakfast can increase satiety and improve concentration. This is important knowledge in a society with increasing obesity rates and lifestyle-related diseases, says researcher.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This is a well-worn platitude that has never had much basis in scientific evidence.

But a new Danish study has explored how different types of breakfast affect satiety and concentration and it has added new fuel to the old cliché.

The study followed 30 obese women aged 18 to 30 for three days, during which the women consumed a protein-rich breakfast, a carbohydrate-rich breakfast or no breakfast at all. The women’s sense of satiety, hormone levels and energy intake were measured at lunchtime. Their total daily energy intake was measured as well.

The participants also had to complete a cognitive concentration test during the study.

“We found that a protein-rich breakfast with skyr (a sour-milk product) and oats increased satiety and concentration in the participants, but it did not reduce the overall energy intake compared to skipping breakfast or eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast,” says Mette Hansen, associate professor and PhD at the Department of Public Health, and one of the authors of the study.

Possible strategy to combat obesity?

The number of overweight people is increasing both in Denmark and across the globe. Obesity is often accompanied by lifestyle-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Previous studies have shown that people who eat breakfast have a lower BMI than people who do not eat breakfast, and protein-rich foods have generally been shown to have an increased satiety effect compared to carbohydrate-rich and high-fat foods with the same calorie content.

The idea was therefore to test whether a protein-rich breakfast could be a good strategy to achieving greater satiety during the day and thus reducing daily calorie intake.

However, the solution is not that simple, says Mette Hansen:

“The results confirm that protein-rich meals increase a sense of satiety, which is positive with regard to preventing weight gain. However, the results also suggest that for this nutritional strategy to be effective, it’s not enough to just eat a protein-rich breakfast.”

Intriguing difference

The potential of replacing a carbohydrate-rich diet with a protein-rich diet can clearly be seen in the satiating effects measured in the study.

Several of the subjects had difficulty consuming the entire protein-rich breakfast consisting of skyr and oats.

“It’s intriguing that there can be such a big difference in the satiety effect of two different meals with the same calorie content. Had the women in the project been allowed to choose the size of the meal themselves, it’s likely that they’d have consumed more food and thereby more calories on the day

they were served bread and jam than on the day they were given skyr and oats,” explains Mette Hansen.

Further research needed

According to the researcher, although the study has provided important insights, it also has its limitations because only overweight young women participated in the study. The study is also based on relatively short-term observations, leaving open the question of how long-term dietary changes can affect health and weight.

Mette Hansen therefore points out that the study underlines the need for further research to understand how different types of food affect health over time.

“We already have new data incoming from a trial where participants received either a high-protein breakfast or a low-protein breakfast. The objective was to study how the different types of breakfast affect body composition and other parameters such as microbiota and cholesterol levels,” says Mette Hansen.

According to Mette Hansen, the results of these studies may result in the development of more targeted nutritional recommendations in the future.

Beans and peas increase fullness more than meat. Eating for weight loss

High-protein vegetables fill more.
High-protein vegetables fill more.

Sustainable eating Meals based on legumes such as beans and peas are more satiating than pork and veal-based meals, according to a recent study by the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports. Results suggest that sustainable eating may also help with weight loss.

Numerous modern dietary recommendations encourage high protein consumption to help with weight loss or prevent the age-related loss of muscle mass. Furthermore, consuming more vegetable-based protein from beans and peas and less protein from meats such as pork, veal and beef is recommended because meat production is a far greater burden on our climate than vegetable cultivation. Until now, we haven’t known much about how legumes like beans and peas stack up against meat in satiating hunger. As a result, little has been known about the impact of vegetables and the possibility of them catalyzing or maintaining weight loss.

High-protein vegetables fill more.

The recent study demonstrated that protein-rich meals based on beans and peas increased satiety more in the study participants than protein-rich veal and pork based meals. In the study, 43 young men were served three different meals in which patties – consisting of either beans/peas or veal/pork – were a key element. The study also demonstrated that when participants ate a protein-rich meal based on beans and peas, they consumed 12% fewer calories in their next meal than if they had eaten a meat-based meal.

“The protein-rich meal composed of legumes contained significantly more fiber than the protein-rich meal of pork and veal, which probably contributed to the increased feeling of satiety”, according to the head researcher, Professor Anne Raben of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

Sustainable eating can help weight loss

Most interestingly, the study also demonstrated that a less protein-rich meal based on beans and peas was as satiating and tasty as the protein-rich veal and pork-based meals.

“It is somewhat contrary to the widespread belief that one ought to consume a large amount of protein because it increases satiety more. Now, something suggests that one can eat a fiber-rich meal, with less protein, and achieve the same sensation of fullness. While more studies are needed for a definitive proof, it appears as if vegetable-based meals – particularly those based on beans and peas – both can serve as a long term basis for weight loss and as a sustainable eating habit”, concludes Professor Raben.

Study urges people to think twice before going on a diet

Plant-based low-carbohydrate diet linked with lower risk of premature death for people with type 2 diabetes
Plant-based low-carbohydrate diet linked with lower risk of premature death for people with type 2 diabetes

A new qualitative study highlights the negative interpersonal and psychological consequences associated with “yo-yo dieting,” also known as weight cycling. The work underscores how toxic yo-yo dieting can be and how difficult it can be for people to break the cycle.

“Yo-yo dieting – unintentionally gaining weight and dieting to lose weight only to gain it back and restart the cycle – is a prevalent part of American culture, with fad diets and lose-weight-quick plans or drugs normalized as people pursue beauty ideals,” says Lynsey Romo, corresponding author of a paper on the study and an associate professor of communication at North Carolina State University.

“Based on what we learned through this study, as well as the existing research, we recommend that most people avoid dieting, unless it is medically necessary. Our study also offers insights into how people can combat insidious aspects of weight cycling and challenge the cycle.”

For the study, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 36 adults – 13 men and 23 women – who had experienced weight cycling where they lost and regained more than 11 pounds. The goal was to learn more about why and how people entered the yo-yo dieting cycle and how, if at all, they were able to get out of it.

All the study participants reported wanting to lose weight due to social stigma related to their weight, and/or because they were comparing their weight to that of celebrities or peers.

“Overwhelmingly, participants did not start dieting for health reasons, but because they felt social pressure to lose weight,” Romo says.

The study participants also reported engaging in a variety of weight-loss strategies, which resulted in initial weight loss, but eventual regain.

Regaining the weight led people to feel shame and further internalize stigma associated with weight – leaving study participants feeling worse about themselves than they did before they began dieting. This, in turn, often led people to engage in increasingly extreme behaviors to try to lose weight again.

“For instance, many participants engaged in disordered weight management behaviors, such as binge or emotional eating, restricting food and calories, memorizing calorie counts, being stressed about what they were eating and the number on the scale, falling back on quick fixes (such as low-carb diets or diet drugs), overexercising, and avoiding social events with food to drop pounds fast,” says Romo. “Inevitably, these diet behaviors became unsustainable, and participants regained weight, often more than they had initially lost.”

“Almost all of the study participants became obsessed with their weight,” says Katelin Mueller, co-author of the study and graduate student at NC State. “Weight loss became a focal point for their lives, to the point that it distracted them from spending time with friends, family, and colleagues and reducing weight-gain temptations such as drinking and overeating.”

“Participants referred to the experience as an addiction or a vicious cycle,” Romo says. “Individuals who were able to understand and address their toxic dieting behaviors were more successful at breaking the cycle. Strategies people used to combat these toxic behaviors included focusing on their health rather than the number on the scale, as well as exercising for fun, rather than counting the number of calories they burned.

“Participants who were more successful at challenging the cycle were also able to embrace healthy eating behaviors – such as eating a varied diet and eating when they were hungry – rather than treating eating as something that needs to be closely monitored, controlled or punished.”

However, the researchers found the vast majority of study participants stuck in the cycle.

“The combination of ingrained thought patterns, societal expectations, toxic diet culture, and pervasive weight stigma make it difficult for people to completely exit the cycle, even when they really want to,” Romo says.

“Ultimately, this study tells us that weight cycling is a negative practice that can cause people real harm,” Romo says. “Our findings suggest that it can be damaging for people to begin dieting unless it is medically necessary. Dieting to meet some perceived societal standard inadvertently set participants up for years of shame, body dissatisfaction, unhappiness, stress, social comparisons, and weight-related preoccupation. Once a diet has begun, it is very difficult for many people to avoid a lifelong struggle with their weight.”

The paper, “A Qualitative Model of Weight Cycling,” is published in the journal Qualitative Health Research. The paper was co-authored by Sydney Earl, a Ph.D. student at NC State; and by Mary Obiol, an undergraduate at NC State.

Can practising self-compassion help people achieve weight loss goals?

Drexel study finds being kind to oneself helps people cope with setbacks and resume pursuing goals faster.
Drexel study finds being kind to oneself helps people cope with setbacks and resume pursuing goals faster.

Losing weight is extremely difficult because high-calorie, delicious food is very accessible. Despite best intentions, it’s common to wind up overeating. These setbacks can be frustrating and demoralizing and often lead people to abandon their goals. A new study from the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Sciences (WELL Center) in Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences explored whether practising self-compassion – or treating oneself with the same care and kindness that people typically offer to their loved ones – helps people become more resilient to these overeating setbacks.

Recently published in Appetite, researchers found that when study participants had more self-compassionate responses to their lapse, they reported better mood and self-control over their eating and exercise behaviour in the hours following the lapse. The findings suggest that self-compassion can help people engage in healthier weight loss behavior by helping them become less demoralized by setbacks.  

“Many people worry that self-compassion will cause complacency and lead them to settle for inadequacy, but this study is a great example of how self-compassion can help people be more successful in meeting their goals,” said Charlotte Hagerman, PhD, an assistant research professor in the College and lead author. “The road to achieving difficult goals—especially weight loss—is paved with setbacks. Practicing self-compassion helps people cope with self-defeating thoughts and feelings in response to setbacks, so that they are less debilitated by them. In turn, they can more quickly resume pursuing their goals.”

Hagerman and colleagues collected data from a group of 140 participants who were trying to lose weight through a group-based lifestyle modification program. Participants responded to surveys on their smartphones multiple times a day to report whether they had experienced a dietary lapse – eating more than they intended, a food they didn’t intend, or at a time they didn’t intend – and the extent to which they were responding to that lapse with self-compassion. The researchers also asked about participants’ moods and how well they had been able to practice self-control over their eating and exercise behavior since the last survey they responded to.

Hagerman noted that weight loss and maintenance are extremely difficult, and people typically blame themselves for a lack of willpower.

“In reality, we live in a food environment that has set everyone up to fail. Practicing self-compassion rather than self-criticism is a key strategy for fostering resilience during the difficult process of weight loss,” said Hagerman. “The next time you feel the urge to criticize yourself for your eating behavior, instead try speaking to yourself with the kindness that you would speak to a friend or loved one.”

For example, instead of a person saying to his or herself, “You have no willpower,” reframe it to a kinder – and truer – statement: “You’re trying your best in a world that makes it very difficult to lose weight.”  Hagerman added that this isn’t letting yourself “off the hook” but giving yourself grace to move forward in a highly challenging process.

The research team hopes this will lead more effective interventions that teach people how to practice self-compassion in the moments that they experience setbacks, such as overeating or weight gain. They also hope to study the best strategies to teach people how to practice true self-compassion, reducing self-blame and criticism, while also holding themselves accountable to their personal standards and goals.

“It can be easy for the message of self-compassion to get muddied, such that people practice total self-forgiveness and dismiss the goals they set for themselves,” said Hagerman. “But we’ve shown that self-compassion and accountability can work together.”

Bariatric surgery may slow cognitive decline for people with obesity.

Cognition scores remained stable, while secondary executive function tests showed improvement
Cognition scores remained stable, while secondary executive function tests showed improvement

Within the next 10 years, it’s projected that up to 50% of United States adults will be affected by obesity, which is associated with cognitive impairment and dementia. 

Investigators at Michigan Medicine found that people with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery had stable cognition two years later

Researchers say it suggests that bariatric surgery may mitigate the natural history of cognitive decline expected in people with obesity.

The results are published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging.

“Since individuals with obesity experience more rapid cognitive decline than those without, stable cognition two years after bariatric surgery may be considered a success against historical trends, yet future controlled trials are needed to test this,” said first author Evan Reynolds, Ph.D., lead statistician for the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies at Michigan Medicine.

Using a collection of memory and language tests developed by the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, the research team assessed over 85 bariatric surgery patients at two-year follow up.

They found that NIH Cognitive Battery test scores remained stable, with secondary executive function tests showing improvement. 

One of the memory assessments, however, declined following surgery.

While this current study is the largest to assess changes two years after bariatric surgery, researchers say, the results conflict with previous studies which found improved memory and executive functioning among similar patients.

“That study was primarily made up of patients who received gastric bypass, while our study was made up primarily of individuals that completed a sleeve gastrectomy,” Reynolds said. 

“To provide the best evidence on the effectiveness of bariatric surgery on cognition and potential differences between surgery types, we must conduct larger observational studies or randomized, controlled trials.”

After bariatric surgery, improvements in diabetes complications, such as peripheral neuropathy, chronic kidney disease and retinopathy, were not associated with improved cognition.

“Metabolic factors, including diabetes and obesity, are associated with cognitive decline, but we still need to better understand how best to treat these factors to improve patients’ cognitive outcomes,” said senior author Brian Callaghan, M.D.