Breakfast protein may help in weight loss

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Eating good-quality protein in the morning increased feelings of fullness throughout the day and may help people lose weight, U.S. researchers said.

The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found when people ate eggs and lean Canadian bacon, they had a greater sense of sustained fullness throughout the day compared to when more protein was eaten at lunch or dinner.

"There is a growing body of research which supports eating high-quality protein foods when dieting to maintain a sense of fullness," the study author Wayne Campbell of Purdue University said in a statement. "This study is particularly unique in that it looked at the timing of protein intake and reveals that when you consume more protein may be a critical piece of the equation."

The study included overweight or obese men who ate a reduced calorie diet. The diet consisted of two variations of protein intakes, both which were within federal nutrition recommendations: normal protein intake -- 11 percent to 14 percent of calories, or increased protein -- 18 percent to 25 percent of calories.