A healthy breakfast may reduce risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease

In March 2003, Pereira et al reported at the American Heart Asssociation's 43rd Annual conference that breakfast habits appeared to influence the incidence of obesity and diabetes in young black and white adults. The Harvard Medical School researchers found that compared to those people who ate breakfast less than three-times per week, people who ate breakfast everyday had a 35% to 50% lower risk of obesity and diabetes.
Breakfast may help control appetite and reduce the risk of overeating later in the day. However, if the breakfast was not healthy (i.e was low in fibre and made up of refined cereals) there was no reduction in obesity/diabetes risk.

The Australian Consumers Association analysed 188 breakfast cereals, of which 65 were found to be nutritionally acceptable according to salt, fat, carbohydrate, sugar and fibre contents. Here are some of the cereals recommended (published in May 2003 issue of CHOICE magazine):

Sanitarium HI Bran Weet-Bix	Lowan Whole foods Soy Flakes with apricot & almond
Uncle Tobys Shredded Wheat	Nature's Source Strawberry & Yoghurt
Uncly Tobys Vita Brits and most other brands of Wheat Biscuits	Weight Watchers Tropicana
Kellogg's Mini-Wheats Whole wheat	Goldenvale Sultana Flakes
Sanitarium Fruit Bix Fruit & Nut	Vogel's Soy & Linseed Soy-tana Bran
Kellogg's Guardian	Carman's Muesli (natural)
Uncle Tobys Healthwise for bowel ORheart	Sanitarium Soy Delight Muesli
Uncle Tobys Fibre Plus	Home Brand Muesli Tropical
Norganic Crunchola Apple Blueberry	Freedom Foods Muesli (natural)
Uncle Tobys Weeties or Weeties fruit and nut	Goodness Muesli Mixed Berry
Weight Watchers Fruit & Fibre	Uncle Tobys Natural Swiss Muesli
Uncle Tobys Bran Plus	Farmland Muesli Apricot & Almond
No Frills Just Bran	Goodness Apple or Banana Magic
Kellogg's All-Bran	Vogel's Ultra Bran Soy & Linseed
Kellogg's Sultana Bran/Bran flakes	Uncle Tobys Crunchy Oat Bran with Fruit
Lowan Whole foods Wheat, rice, oat & soy multibran	Nu-Vit 4 fibre breakfast cereal

CHOICE magazine also report in the May 2003 article that "all the kids cereals were found to have too much sugar and/or too little fibre to be recommended for every
day except Sanitarium Honey Weets .... and most brands of cornflakes and rice bubbles are low in fibre and high in salt"

Last Updated: May 2003