The impact of a protein‐rich breakfast on food cravings and reward in overweight/obese ‘breakfast skipping’ adolescent girls

Purpose To assess whether the addition of a high‐protein (HP) or normal‐protein (NP) breakfast alters food cravings and signals controlling food reward in breakfast skipping (BS) girls. Methods Using a randomized crossover design, 20 BS girls (age 19±1y; BMI 28.6±0.7kg/m 2 ) where acclimated to each breakfast pattern for 6 days. On day 7, a 4‐h testing day was completed including the consumption of breakfast followed by repeated assessments of food cravings and blood sampling for plasma concentrations of the dopamine metabolite, homovanilic acid (HVA). Results Breakfast reduced sweet and savory cravings vs. BS (all, p<0.05). Although no differences in sweet cravings were observed between breakfast meals, HP lead to greater reduction in savory cravings vs. NP (p<0.05). Plasma HVA concentrations were greater following both breakfast meals vs. BS (both, p<0.05), with HP exhibiting sustained increases prior to lunch vs. NP (p=0.09). HVA concentrations were correlated with perceived fullness, breakfast palatability, and protein content at breakfast. Conclusion These data suggest that the daily addition of a protein‐rich breakfast, containing 35g of protein, alters signals associated with food motivation and reward, and might be a beneficial strategy to combat the modern food environment in young people. Grant Funding Source : The Beef Checkoff; Egg Nutrition Center; Margaret Flynn