There has been a prevailing notion that if you eat a large breakfast, it will help you to consume less calories overall throughout the day. But a new study from German scientists, published in Nutrition Journal, has shown that information to be false. This, to our mind, is not surprising. After all, doesn't the idea of eating more food to lose weight seem a little silly?

Dr. Volker Schusdziarra, from the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Center of Nutritional Medicine, studied nearly 400 people, with some of them eating large breakfasts, some small, and some skipping the meal altogether. Their eating habits, and weight fluctuations, were recorded into journals.

Said Schusdziarra, “the results of the study showed that people ate the same at lunch and dinner, regardless of what they had for breakfast.” The data, really, was somewhat simple. People who ate an extra 400 calories for breakfast tended to eat about 400 more total calories on the day than everyone else. We aren't scientists, but that math seems pretty straightforward.

So if eating more doesn't make us healthier, are there any other options? Maybe the answer is to pattern our diets after people in other countries. This week, we'll try the French diet: a light breakfast of pastry and coffee; then copious amounts of wine, cheese, butter, and duck fat, spread out through the remainder of the day. It may not work either, but it sounds like a lot more fun than an extra plate of pancakes in the morning.

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