You already know eating breakfast is a crucial part of a healthy eating regimen, but it also turns out where you eat your first meal of the day is a telling indicator of how slim you are.
A survey conducted by The Consumer Reports National Research Center showed that the 84 percent of breakfast-eaters who consumed their morning meals at home had a lower body mass index than those who said they ate breakfast outside of their homes.
Popular breakfast choices included:
• fruit (42 percent)
• fruit juice (37 percent)
• cold cereal (29 percent)
• whole-wheat bread, toast, or English muffin (25 percent)
• bacon, ham, or sausage (19 percent)
• oatmeal (18 percent)
• yogurt (15 percent)
• eggs (14 percent)
• egg substitutes (8 percent)
Some of the foods listed are better than others -- for example, oatmeal, yogurt, and eggs are better choices because they're either complex carbs or protein, which help eaters stay satiated for a longer period of time and provide good nutrients. Fruit juice and cold cereal may be too high in sugar (women should get no more than 25 grams of added sugar daily, and men no more than 38 grams), and bacon, ham and sausage are filled with saturated fats.
Interestingly, women in the survey were more likely to say they had yogurt than men (20 percent versus 10 percent), and men were more likely to eat meat for breakfast (22 percent versus 15 percent).
Among cereal eaters, 28 percent chose some form of Cheerios, making it the clear winner.
