Your Breakfast Bowl

Oatmeal is a food for which its hearty texture is provided by oat beta-glucan, a compound which influences gastrointestinal mechanisms that help us feel full (satiety).  Frank L Greenway, from Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System (Louisiana, USA),and colleagues report that eating a bowl of instant oatmeal for breakfast is more satiating and helps to manage hunger better than the same amount of calories from a leading oat-based, cold cereal, even when consumed in smaller portions than previously found.   The team enrolled 43 healthy men and women in a randomized, controlled crossover investigation. Following an overnight fast, subjects completed three breakfast trials in random order at least a week apart. Each breakfast consisted of 150 calories of instant oatmeal, old-fashioned oatmeal or a ready-to-eat cereal, plus 67.5 calories of lactose-free skim milk. After eating breakfast, subjects' hunger and satiety measures were assessed at 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 minutes.  The results showed that when subjects ate instant oatmeal, they reported less hunger compared to the ready-to-eat cereal. Oatmeal also provided increased fullness and a reduced desire to eat more. Observing that the viscosity of oatmeal may help with hunger and appetite control, the study authors conclude that: [Instant oatmeal] and [old-fashioned oatmeal] improved appetite control over four hours compared to [ready-to-eat breakfast cereal].”