Brain activation patterns in response to normal vs. protein‐rich breakfast meals in overweight and obese ‘breakfast skipping’ adolescent girls

Abstract

PurposeTo examine the brain activation responses to visual food cues in ‘breakfast skipping’ adolescents before and after the daily incorporation of 500 kcal breakfast meals containing either normal protein (NP) (15% of energy as pro) or higher protein (HP) (40% of energy as pro).Methods12 overweight/obese adolescent girls (age 15 ± 1 y; BMI 93 ± 1.3%ile; skip breakfast 6 ± 1 times/week) completed a baseline (‘breakfast skipping’, BS) testing day then randomly consumed NP or HP breakfast meals at home for six consecutive days. On day seven of each breakfast pattern, the subjects came to the laboratory to consume their respective breakfast meal followed by an fMRI brain scan prior to lunch (i.e., 3‐h post‐breakfast).ResultsBoth breakfast meals led to reductions in brain activation in the prefrontal cortex, cingulated gyrus, and parahippocampal gyrus compared to BS (all regions, P <0.001). In addition to these responses, the PN meal also led to reductions in brain activation in the amygdala (P<0.001), whereas the PR meal led to reductions in the insula (P<0.001).ConclusionThe daily addition of breakfast led to reductions in brain activation in specific brain regions associated with food motivation and reward in overweight and obese ‘breakfast skipping’ adolescent girls with differential responses attributable to the dietary protein of the breakfast meal. Support: NIH‐5 K12 HD052027‐04Grant Funding Source: NIH‐5 K12 HD052027‐04