Research shows that the brain craves higher calorie foods when you skip breakfast If you are trying to lose weight or keep it off, skipping breakfast is a big no-no because the body craves higher calorie foods later. Now researchers think they have figured out what this is all about. Skipping the first meal of the day actually tricks your brain into thinking you need foods that contain more calories — foods that make you gain weight, or at least add to your weight. A team from Imperial College, University of London presented this report at the 91st Endocrine Society in Washington, DC. The researchers used a scanner called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to see how the act of eating affects the brain’s “feedback” centers, which play an important role in feelings of pleasure and physical responsiveness. Functional MRI allows doctors to see how blood flow increases in response to feedback from brain activity. The study was conducted on 20 healthy, non-obese individuals. They did not eat breakfast before the functional MRI. During the test, they were shown random photos of foods that were high or low in calories. High-calorie foods included pizza, cake and chocolate. Healthier options also included vegetables, fish and salads. When presented with a picture of a high-calorie rather than a low-calorie food, the brain’s feedback center activity was more vivid and active. (The taste and smell of the food also stimulated the brain’s feedback centers.) However, when the participants repeated the same test 90 minutes after eating breakfast, the brain’s feedback centers did not show significantly greater activity when presented with photos of high-calorie foods. Participants in the study also evaluated how appealing each of the food pictures they saw were. When breakfast was not eaten, high-calorie foods topped the list of most appealing foods. However, after eating breakfast, they did not have a clear preference for high-calorie foods. Their choice was consistent with the functional magnetic resonance imaging results. Breakfast has long been considered the most important meal of the day, and the researchers said they added validation to that maxim. “Our results support the recommendation that eating a healthy breakfast as part of a prescribed diet can prevent and treat obesity.” Tony Goldstone said in a statement. He is a medical doctor and consultant to the Centre for Medical Research and Clinical Endocrine Sciences at Imperial College London. When people skip meals, especially breakfast, the brain’s feedback activity in response to food becomes (inclined to) prevent weight loss and can even promote weight gain,” he said. The researchers hope that one day these findings will drive the development of weight-loss drugs that target the brain’s feedback loops and disrupt the preference for choosing between high-calorie and low-calorie foods.