Lead researcher Nikhil V. Dhurandhar of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of the Louisiana State University system compared study subjects who ate a bagel breakfast with men and women who consumed an equal breakfast of two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet.

The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, found that those eating the egg breakfast:

-- Lost 65 percent more weight.

-- Exhibited a 61 percent greater reduction in body mass index.

-- Reported higher energy levels than their dieting counterparts who consumed a bagel breakfast.

The researchers also found that blood lipids were not impacted during the two month study. They found that blood levels of high-density lipoproteins, the "good" cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins, the "bad" cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, did not vary compared to baseline cholesterol blood levels in subjects who ate either the bagel or egg breakfasts.

These findings add to more than 30 years of research that conclude that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease, Dhurandhar said.