Eating Eggs for Breakfast Better than Bagels for Weight Loss

Eating two eggs for breakfast, combined with a reduced-calorie diet, leads to substantial weight loss within eight weeks, compared with eating a bagel for breakfast.

Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, PhD, of the Pennington Biochemical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and his colleagues asked 152 men and women to follow one of four diets for eight weeks: two eggs for breakfast as part of a lowcalorie diet, a bagel for breakfast as part of a low-calorie diet, 2 eggs for breakfast while maintaining the subjects’ typical diet, and a bagel for breakfast while maintaining a typical diet.

Eating eggs or a bagel for breakfast, while maintaining a typical diet, did not lead to weight loss. However, eating two eggs for breakfast at least five days weekly, as part of a low-calorie diet, led to substantial weight and fat loss, compared with people eating a bagel for breakfast on a low-calorie diet.

At the end of the study, the egg/low-calorie group averaged a 65 percent greater loss of weight, compared with the bagel/low-calorie group—almost 6 pounds versus 3.5 pounds. The egg/low-calorie group also had a 16 percent reduction in body fat, and 34 percent reduction in waist circumference.

Dhurandhar and his colleagues noted that eggs are an inexpensive and widely available food, and that they promote weight loss despite their inherent calories and fat.

Reference: Vander Wal JS, Gupta A, Khosla P, et al. "Egg breakfast enhances weight loss." International Journal of Obesity, 2008:32:1545- 1551.