Finally, a study has confirmed what I’ve long known to be true in my heart: Two breakfasts are better than none. Okay, the research on the effect of breakfast on weight gain was done on schoolkids (it was published in Pediatric Obesity), but it makes sense in theory for adult humans, too.
一項研究最終確認(rèn)了我心中長久認(rèn)為正確的事：吃兩頓早餐比沒吃早餐好。這項研究的研究對象是學(xué)生們(而相關(guān)論文發(fā)表在《兒科肥胖》雜志上)，意圖找到早餐對體重增加的影響。但是在理論上，這項研究對成年人也有參考價值。
Researchers from Yale and the University of Connecticut followed 600 middle-school students as they progressed from fifth to seventh grade, noting their weight and if they had zero breakfast, breakfast either at home or at school, or breakfast in both places. They found that weight gain among second-breakfast eaters was no different from the average gain seen among all students. Kids who didn’t eat breakfast, or ate it only sometimes, were twice as likely to be overweight or obese as double-breakfasters. It should be noted that only about one in ten kids in the study ate two breakfasts.
耶魯大學(xué)和康涅狄格大學(xué)的研究人員追蹤了600位五年級到七年級的中學(xué)生，記錄他們的體重、是否有吃早餐的習(xí)慣、吃早餐的地點(diǎn)(在家、在學(xué)校、或二者兼而有之)。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)吃兩頓早餐的人和大家的體重平均增加數(shù)目相比沒有什么區(qū)別。而不吃早餐或很少吃早餐的孩子們則比吃兩頓的孩子們多出一倍機(jī)率超重或者肥胖。需要說明的是，在研究中十個孩子中只有一個每天吃兩頓早餐。
The study wasn’t designed to figure out why this might be true, but the researchers have some theories: namely, that people who skip breakfast (or any meal) might overeat later in the day, and that being overweight to begin with could lead a person to pass on breakfast to save calories.
這項研究并不只在于弄清為何這項結(jié)論是正確的。但是研究人員們也有一些理論來解釋結(jié)果：換句話說，不吃早餐(或午飯、晚飯)的人可能會吃過量的食物，繼而體重超標(biāo)。而這將導(dǎo)致一個人繼續(xù)不吃早餐來減少卡路里攝入。
Yes, school breakfasts are more like a healthy snack than a full meal, and growing tweens can pack away a terrifying amount of food, but if you’re still not eating breakfast because you think it’s a waste of calories, you are not only mistaken, but you are also missing out on one of life’s great pleasures. Which is, of course, eating multiple times before noon.
的確，學(xué)校所供應(yīng)的早餐比起正式的一餐來說更像搭配健康的小食，而正在長身體的青少年們會打包走一大份食物。但是如果你仍然認(rèn)為吃早餐能夠減少卡路里攝入而不吃早餐的話，那你不僅僅是弄錯了，而且你還錯失了生命中最愉悅的體驗之一，即在中午之前吃上好幾回東西。