The Relationship Between Ready To Eat Cereal And Body Weight

Our cooked steel cut oats

A good friend of mine emailed me an article comparing ready-to-eat-cereal (RTEC) with other breakfasts or skipping breakfast altogether. He asked if that's how we remain trim. He knows that my wife and I have steel cut oats cooked with flax seeds, chia seeds, cocoa powder, and maca powder topped with blueberries, bananas, hemp seeds and granola, 6 times a week for breakfast. 

We use Champ Granola

This systematic review found that those who consume RTEC have higher diet quality (vitamins, fiber and wholegrains) and lower incidences of being overweight and obese in adults compared to having other breakfasts (especially meat and egg) or skipping breakfast totally.

A total of 28 relevant studies were found, 14 observational studies and 14 radomised controlled trials RCT). Results from the observational studies showed that frequent RTEC consumers (usually 4 or more servings/ week) have lower BMI, lower prevalence of overweight/ obesity, less weight gain over time compared with non consumers or less frequent consumers (of RTEC).

Definitely not this ready to eat cereal

Results from the RCT's did not have consistent results regarding effects of RTEC consumption on body weight and composition. The RCT's did not show significantly less loss of body weight or weight gain with RTEC consumption (unlike observational studies, which showed better weight outcomes). 

The RCT's suggest that RTEC may be used as a meal or snack replacement as part of a hypocaloric (less calories) diet although this approach may not be superior to other options (like exercise) for those hoping to achieve an energy deficit. Additional long term studies (longer than 6 months) where participants eat less or eat as often as much as they wanted are definitely needed.

My thoughts on the systematic review? I told my friend that the review did not include hot cereals (since they were not considered RTEC). Our breakfast is cooked and topped with RTEC along with a lot of other ingredients. We do not lead sedentary lifestyles, we exercise frequently and we do not sit down much at work.

Individuals with a higher BMI may also decide to skip breakfast to limit their calories and this will contribute to the higher BMI observed in those who skip breakfast compared to RTEC consumers. Moreover, RTEC consumption is generally associated with other healthy behaviours like increased physical activity, greater vegetable consumption and lower likelihood of smoking which will affect analyses.

How does mee pok for breakfast sound?

All the observational studies reviewed were from North America and Europe since people in these countries usually consume RTEC. A lot of Asian countries do not consume RTEC, it would also be interesting to see how data in these countries would differ. 

Reference

Sanders LM, Dicklin MR, Zhu Y et al (2023). The Relationshio Of Ready-To-Eat Cereal Intake And Body Weight In Adults: A Systematic Review Of Observational Studies And Controlled Trials. Advanc in Nutri. DOI: 10.1016/j.advnut.2023.05.001

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