Plenty of research has found that eating breakfast is important for weight maintenance, metabolism and overall good health. Now, the evidence gets even stronger: a small new randomized controlled trial finds that regularly eating a substantial morning meal directly affects how fat cells function in the body by changing the activity of genes involved in fat metabolism and insulin resistance. The findings suggest that eating breakfast every morning may help lower people's risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the study authors say-and that even if a morning meal increases a person's total calorie consumption, those calories may be offset by other energy-burning benefits.

大量研究發現：吃早飯對保持體重、促進新陳代謝和維持整體健康十分重要。現在，證據進一步表明：一項新的小型隨機對照試驗發現，定期吃豐盛的早餐通過改變與脂肪新陳代謝和胰島素抵抗性相關的基因活動，直接影響著體內脂肪細胞的運作。研究結果表明，每天都吃早飯或能幫助降低人們患2型糖尿病、心血管疾病的風險，研究作者說道--即使吃早飯會增加一個人的總體卡路里攝入量，但這些卡路里也能被其它燃燒能量的益處所抵消。

In the study, published in the Journal of Physiology, researchers asked 49 people ages 21 to 60 to either eat breakfast or fast until mid-day, every day for six weeks. Those in the breakfast group were asked to eat at least 700 calories by 11 a.m., and at least half of those calories within two hours of waking. They could choose the foods they wanted, but most people opted for typical breakfast foods like cereals, toast and juice.

這篇研究發表在《生理學雜志》上，研究人員要求49名21歲至61歲的人要么吃早飯，要么就一直餓到中午，持續六周都是如此。研究人員要求那些吃早飯的人在早上11點之前攝入700卡路里，并且至少一半的熱量是在醒來后的2小時內攝入的。他們可以選擇自己想吃的食物，但大多數人選擇了經典早餐，比如燕麥、吐司和橙汁。

Before and after the study, the researchers measured everyone's metabolism, body composition and cardiovascular and metabolic health. They also took biopsies of their fat cells to measure the activity of 44 different genes and proteins related to metabolism and other physiological processes, as well as the cells' ability to take up sugar, which is the body's response to changing insulin levels.

研究前后，研究人員測量了每個人的新陳代謝、身體組成，以及心血管和新陳代謝健康。他們還對受試者的脂肪細胞進行了活組織檢查，測量了與新陳代謝以及其它生理過程相關的44種不同基因和蛋白質的活動，以及細胞攝取糖分的能力，這也是人體對改變胰島素水平的反應。

They found that in people who had normal weights, eating breakfast decreased the activity of genes involved in fat burning. In other words, there was some evidence that skipping breakfast actually increased fat burning, says lead author Javier Gonzalez, associate professor in nutrition and metabolism at the University of Bath in the UK, in an email. But total energy balance-the most important aspect for weight loss or weight maintenance-did not drastically differ between groups. However, that's not what they found in people with obesity. The more body fat a person had, the less their fat cells responded to insulin.

他們發現，在體重正常的人群中，吃早飯降低了與脂肪燃燒有關的基因的活性。換言之，有些跡象表明：不吃早飯確實會加快脂肪燃燒，首席研究作者哈維爾·岡薩雷斯在一封電子郵件中寫道，他是英國巴斯大學營養與代謝學副教授。但整體的能量平衡--減肥或維持體重的最重要因素--在兩組之間卻沒有出現很大的不同。然而，對于肥胖人員而言，結果卻不是如此。一個人身體脂肪越多，他們的脂肪細胞對胰島素的反應次數就越少。

Plenty of research has found that eating breakfast is important for weight maintenance, metabolism and overall good health. Now, the evidence gets even stronger: a small new randomized controlled trial finds that regularly eating a substantial morning meal directly affects how fat cells function in the body by changing the activity of genes involved in fat metabolism and insulin resistance. The findings suggest that eating breakfast every morning may help lower people's risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the study authors say-and that even if a morning meal increases a person's total calorie consumption, those calories may be offset by other energy-burning benefits.

大量研究發現：吃早飯對保持體重、促進新陳代謝和維持整體健康十分重要。現在，證據進一步表明：一項新的小型隨機對照試驗發現，定期吃豐盛的早餐通過改變與脂肪新陳代謝和胰島素抵抗性相關的基因活動，直接影響著體內脂肪細胞的運作。研究結果表明，每天都吃早飯或能幫助降低人們患2型糖尿病、心血管疾病的風險，研究作者說道--即使吃早飯會增加一個人的總體卡路里攝入量，但這些卡路里也能被其它燃燒能量的益處所抵消。

In the study, published in the Journal of Physiology, researchers asked 49 people ages 21 to 60 to either eat breakfast or fast until mid-day, every day for six weeks. Those in the breakfast group were asked to eat at least 700 calories by 11 a.m., and at least half of those calories within two hours of waking. They could choose the foods they wanted, but most people opted for typical breakfast foods like cereals, toast and juice.

這篇研究發表在《生理學雜志》上，研究人員要求49名21歲至61歲的人要么吃早飯，要么就一直餓到中午，持續六周都是如此。研究人員要求那些吃早飯的人在早上11點之前攝入700卡路里，并且至少一半的熱量是在醒來后的2小時內攝入的。他們可以選擇自己想吃的食物，但大多數人選擇了經典早餐，比如燕麥、吐司和橙汁。

Before and after the study, the researchers measured everyone's metabolism, body composition and cardiovascular and metabolic health. They also took biopsies of their fat cells to measure the activity of 44 different genes and proteins related to metabolism and other physiological processes, as well as the cells' ability to take up sugar, which is the body's response to changing insulin levels.

研究前后，研究人員測量了每個人的新陳代謝、身體組成，以及心血管和新陳代謝健康。他們還對受試者的脂肪細胞進行了活組織檢查，測量了與新陳代謝以及其它生理過程相關的44種不同基因和蛋白質的活動，以及細胞攝取糖分的能力，這也是人體對改變胰島素水平的反應。

They found that in people who had normal weights, eating breakfast decreased the activity of genes involved in fat burning. In other words, there was some evidence that skipping breakfast actually increased fat burning, says lead author Javier Gonzalez, associate professor in nutrition and metabolism at the University of Bath in the UK, in an email. But total energy balance-the most important aspect for weight loss or weight maintenance-did not drastically differ between groups. However, that's not what they found in people with obesity. The more body fat a person had, the less their fat cells responded to insulin.

他們發現，在體重正常的人群中，吃早飯降低了與脂肪燃燒有關的基因的活性。換言之，有些跡象表明：不吃早飯確實會加快脂肪燃燒，首席研究作者哈維爾·岡薩雷斯在一封電子郵件中寫道，他是英國巴斯大學營養與代謝學副教授。但整體的能量平衡--減肥或維持體重的最重要因素--在兩組之間卻沒有出現很大的不同。然而，對于肥胖人員而言，結果卻不是如此。一個人身體脂肪越多，他們的脂肪細胞對胰島素的反應次數就越少。