Poached eggs on toast
If it’s the weekend, you can still have double servings – try something a little more indulgent like poached eggs on toast to get the day off to a good start. (Photo: Pixabay)

We’ve long been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that skipping it may prove detrimental to your health.

But a new study from Yale and the University of Connecticut suggests that even eating two breakfasts could be better than not eating anything at all.

Over the course of two years, researchers closely monitored 600 school children as they progressed from year five to year seven, taking note of their weight and whether they had eaten breakfast at home, at school, in both places or not at all.

Surprisingly, the kids who ate a second breakfast showed no difference in weight gain compared to the average gain overall. Children who skipped breakfast or who only ate breakfast occasionally, however, were twice as likely to be overweight or obese than their double-breakfast counterparts.

So, it seems, two breakfasts may be better than none.

Marlene Schwartz, from the University of Connecticut’s Rudd Centre for Food Policy and Obesity, does point out, though, that it all comes down to what is being eaten.

“It’s not like these kids are eating two breakfasts of doughnuts,” she said. “School breakfasts are very healthy. “It’s fruit and low-fat dairy and whole grains. So you could almost think of it as a healthy snack.”

That means, you can eat more than usual, but make sure that what you eat is healthy. For example, you can start with a bowl of cereal with berries and low-fat milk. Let it digest and half an hour later, you can chomp on a bagel with cheese or poached eggs on toast and wash it down with a Fast Breakfast smoothie. This will carry you through the day with enough energy and still keeps your weight in check.

For more tips on healthy eating, visit the Health Promotion Board’s website.

Text: Deirdre Fogarty, Food To Love/The Australian Women’s Weekly / Additional Reporting: Sean Tan