A pilot study assessing whether the consumption of a protein‐rich breakfast improves appetite control, eating behavior, and sleep quality compared to skipping breakfast in healthy young professionals

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious research has documented the detrimental effects of breakfast skipping on daily appetite control, satiety, and eating behaviors and improvements in these outcomes following the daily consumption of a high‐protein (HP) breakfast in overweight/obese adolescents. While relatively unexplored, observational studies have also illustrated other health‐related detriments with breakfast skipping, including poor sleep quality. Thus, we sought to extend the current evidence to healthy young professionals and include assessments of sleep quality.PurposeTo examine the effects of consuming a HP breakfast vs. breakfast skipping on daily appetite control, food intake, and sleep quality in healthy young professionals.MethodsThirteen adults (age: 23.5 ± 0.9y; BMI: 23.6 ± 0.6 kg/m2) completed the following randomized cross‐over design. The participants consumed a HP breakfast (350kcal; 30g Protein, 35g Carbohydrate, 10g Fat) or skipped breakfast (SKIP) for 7 days/pattern. On day 7 of each pattern, a tightly controlled 8 h clinical testing day was completed consisting of repeated assessments of perceived hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption (PFC). Food intake and food choice were assessed with an ad libitum packout. Sleep quality was assessed via daily actigraphy and daily sleep diaries.ResultsDaily hunger, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption were decreased (all p < 0.05) following the HP breakfast vs. SKIP. Daily fullness tended to increase (p = 0.067) following the HP breakfast vs. SKIP. The consumption of the HP breakfast tended to decrease ad libitum food intake (1831 ± 284 kcal) vs. SKIP (2251 ± 365 kcal, p = 0.087), through the reduction in ad libitum carbohydrate and fat intake. Regarding the sleep outcomes, although the consumption of a HP breakfast led to less total sleep time (TST) (actigraphy: 381±13 min) vs. SKIP (actigraphy: 417±14min, p < 0.05), no differences in sleep efficiency (TST/Sleep Period) were detected. Further, perceived sleep quality and sleep onset tended to improve following the consumption of the HP breakfast vs. SKIP (p = 0.060–0.077).ConclusionsCollectively, the daily consumption of a HP breakfast tended to improve appetite control, reduced food intake, and may support improvements in some aspects of sleep health in healthy professionals.Support or Funding InformationInternal Grant