The effect of ready-to-eat cereal consumption on energy intake, body weight and anthropometric measurements: results from a randomized, controlled intervention trial

Abstract

The objective of this work was to determine the effect of consumption of ready-to-eat cereal (RTEC) in the evening in place of a normal evening snack on body weight, anthropometric measurements and energy intake in overweight individuals. Seventy overweight participants who were self-reported habitual evening snackers were assigned to either the control or treatment group. For 6 weeks the treatment group consumed RTEC instead of their normal evening snack. Body weight, anthropometric and food intake measurements were taken at 2-week intervals. There were no significant differences between groups in any anthropometric measurements; however, within the treatment group, body weight (p = 0.030) and waist circumference (p = 0.0003) were reduced after 6 weeks compared with baseline. Evening energy intake was lower in the treatment group compared with the control group (p = 0.007). These data indicate that replacing evening snacks with RTEC in overweight habitual evening snackers significantly reduces post dinner energy intake and may assist with weight management.

The Benefits of Breakfast Cereal Consumption: A Systematic Review of the Evidence Base

“…In contrast, most of the intervention studies that added cereal at breakfast did not show any significant impact on measures of weight ( 85 , 86 , 90 , 91 , 101 , 102 , 106 ). It is often difficult to distinguish the effect of a breakfast meal from the effect of breakfast cereals specifically; there is thus a need for larger long-term intervention trials comparing the impact of different types of breakfast cereals when consumed at breakfast.…”

“…However, that study did not provide information on the control cereal used for comparison and required 2 servings/d to be consumed ( 103 ). The other three 6-wk studies had differing results: 1 reported a beneficial effect with an oat-based breakfast cereal taken at 2 meals in a day ( 104 ); another also found that increased breakfast cereal consumption assisted weight loss in a hypocaloric diet ( 105 ); and another found no effect when evening snacks were replaced by RTEC ( 106 ).…”

“…Several of the intervention studies showed breakfast cereal consumption to be helpful in assisting weight loss when used as snack or meal replacements ( 87 – 89 , 102 – 104 , 107 ), although 1 study did not find any significant effect ( 106 ).…”

Discrete strategies to reduce intake of discretionary food choices: a scoping review

“…Consuming RTEC in amounts ranging from 33–60 g/d did not consistently improve dietary intake or anthropometric measures [ 51 – 53 ], and these studies did not report whether and what types of foods RTEC supplemented, except in the study by Kirk et al [ 51 ] who supplemented bread and toast. The study by Kirk et al [ 51 ] also reported a greater decrease in the percent contribution of biscuits and cakes to mean daily energy intake compared with the control group who received no advice to consume RTEC for 12 weeks (-6.0 %E vs -1.4 %E); one or two servings of RTEC for 12 weeks did not affect body weight in children [ 53 ]; but when RTEC and milk was consumed in place of the usual evening snack (food type not reported), an increase in evening energy intake (+500 kJ) was found [ 52 ].…”

The Relationship of Ready-to-Eat Cereal Intake and Body Weight in Adults: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies and Controlled Trials

“…There were 14 observational studies [ 4 , 5 , 9 , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] ] and 14 RCTs [ [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] ] evaluating the relationship of RTEC with body weight outcomes. Most observational studies were cross-sectional in design, with only 3 prospective analyses from cohorts or longitudinal RCTs [ 9 , 22 , 23 ].…”