The Hormonal and Behavioral Impact of Eating Breakfast

CCRC: The Hormonal and Behavioral Impact of Eating Breakfast

This study is exploring the relationship between food intake behavior and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA) in women who regularly skip breakfast compared to women who regularly eat breakfast.

Healthy women will be studies in a cross-sectional fashion to examine the metabolic, hormonal and behavioral factors associated with breakfast skipping.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Pre-menopausal women (as determined by self-report of menstrual history and confirmation with plasma FSH)
• 20 to 45 years old,
• BMI less than 40 kg/m2
• Stable body weight (fluctuation of less than ± 3%) for past 3 months.
• Breakfast eaters: defined as eating at least 15% of total daily energy intake at a meal between 0400-1000 h at least 6 days/week.
• Breakfast skippers: defined as eating no foods or beverages between 0400-1000h at least 4 days/week or only taking beverages (no solid food) containing less than ~100 kcal.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Erratic/intermittent breakfast eating
• Currently pregnant or lactating
• Shift workers/diagnosed sleep disorders
• Use of tobacco products
• Use of non-prescription drugs/hormone replacement/steroid-based medications
• Diagnosed endocrine, metabolic, or digestive disorder
• Hemoglobin <11 g/dl
• Plasma Glucose >120 mg/dl