Tel Aviv University: Desserts for Breakfast, a Viable Strategy for Weight Loss

Doctors at Tel Aviv University say morning is the best time to consume sweets because that's when the body's metabolism is most active, and we have the rest of the day to work off the calories. Eating cookies or chocolate as part of breakfast that includes proteins and carbs also helps stem the craving for sweets later.

Feb 21 2012 --- Next time you have a choice between low-fat yogurt or chocolate cake for breakfast, go for the chocolate cake.

It sounds too good to be true, but new research says having dessert for breakfast can help people lose weight and keep it off.

Doctors at Tel Aviv University say morning is the best time to consume sweets because that's when the body's metabolism is most active, and we have the rest of the day to work off the calories. Eating cookies or chocolate as part of breakfast that includes proteins and carbs also helps stem the craving for sweets later.

The researchers split 193 clinically obese, non-diabetic adults into two groups: one consumed a low-carb diet that included a 300-calorie breakfast; the other got a balanced 600-calorie breakfast that included a dessert item.

Halfway through the 32-week study, both groups had lost an average of 33 lbs. per person. But in the second half of the study the low-carb group regained an average of 22 lbs. per person, while the dessert-for-breakfast group lost an additional 15 lbs. each.

Though both groups consumed the same daily total calories, "the participants in the low-carbohydrate diet group had less satisfaction and felt that they were not full," said Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz, adding that they would eventually give in to cravings for sugar and carbs, and cheat on their diet.

This also suggests that the dessert group will be more successful at keeping the weight off, the researchers said.

Source: The findings appear in the journal Steroids.