Claire Chapman
English 101
Summary/Summary Response
October 5, 2015
Summary for “Science of breakfast: how nutritionists might have gotten it wrong”
The theory that skipping breakfast can lead to significant weight gain is being brought into question. Entering the U.S. Dietary Guidelines in 2010, this breakfast theory is widely accepted and used when implementing policies for school lunches and federally funded programs as well as for people trying to eat healthy. Whoriskey points out, though, that while included in such an influential text, the breakfast theory is not proven by solid, scientific evidence. The theory is held up only by observational studies that loosely show a correlation between skipping breakfast and weight gain. Whoriskey notes that lack of control over a number of variables in the observations could have caused false assumptions to be made about the relationship between breakfast and weight gain. Even though a controlled scientific trial in Mexico showed no link solely between skipping breakfast and weight gain, the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines committee decided in favor of the observational studies and included the theory. However, with the Guidelines being updated this year, new evidence from a study conducted by a New York city hospital is causing more suspicion. In the study, subjects were given different breakfasts, and the control group that was given no breakfast was actually the only group to lose weight. To conclude, this long-standing idea that missing out on breakfast causes weight gain may be more fiction than fact, but only more research will tell the true story.
English 101
Summary/Summary Response
October 5, 2015
Summary for “Science of breakfast: how nutritionists might have gotten it wrong”
The theory that skipping breakfast can lead to significant weight gain is being brought into question. Entering the U.S. Dietary Guidelines in 2010, this breakfast theory is widely accepted and used when implementing policies for school lunches and federally funded programs as well as for people trying to eat healthy. Whoriskey points out, though, that while included in such an influential text, the breakfast theory is not proven by solid, scientific evidence. The theory is held up only by observational studies that loosely show a correlation between skipping breakfast and weight gain. Whoriskey notes that lack of control over a number of variables in the observations could have caused false assumptions to be made about the relationship between breakfast and weight gain. Even though a controlled scientific trial in Mexico showed no link solely between skipping breakfast and weight gain, the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines committee decided in favor of the observational studies and included the theory. However, with the Guidelines being updated this year, new evidence from a study conducted by a New York city hospital is causing more suspicion. In the study, subjects were given different breakfasts, and the control group that was given no breakfast was actually the only group to lose weight. To conclude, this long-standing idea that missing out on breakfast causes weight gain may be more fiction than fact, but only more research will tell the true story.
Works Cited
Whoriskey, Peter. "Science of Breakfast: How Nutritionists Might Have Gotten It Wrong." Newsela. N.p., 20 Aug. 2015. Web.
<https://newsela.com/articles/breakfast-skip/id/11632/>.
Whoriskey, Peter. "Science of Breakfast: How Nutritionists Might Have Gotten It Wrong." Newsela. N.p., 20 Aug. 2015. Web.
<https://newsela.com/articles/breakfast-skip/id/11632/>.