To raise metabolism and burn calories, people must eat breakfast in the morning, and oatmeal has many benefits for health and weight loss that make it a good choice when looking for the first meal of the day.
Benefits of Oatmeal in Weight Loss
Oatmeal has been marketed as an effective tool in lowering cholesterol, but it has many features that make it an effective weight loss tool as well. Oatmeal is:
- high in soluble fiber, which slows the digestive process and helps a person feel full longer
- low in fat, which is essential to losing weight
The combination of these two factors make oatmeal almost a perfect food for the person trying to slim down.
Research Study Shows Oatmeal Helps Dieters Lose Weight
According to the Quaker Oats website, a study done by the Rippe Lifestyle Institute shows the connection between eating oatmeal and losing weight. The results, which were released in 2006 at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO), showed that those who ate a bowl of Quaker Weight Control Instant Oatmeal in the morning as part of a lower calorie diet, along with a walking exercise routine, lost weight.
Researchers involved 40 overweight individuals in this study. One part of the group was assigned a routine of walking for exercise for 15 to 30 minutes. The other part ate a lower calorie diet which included Weight Control Oatmeal each morning in addition to the walking.
The results showed that the group who only walked lost no weight, and the group that ate oatmeal as a part of their diet lost an average of five pounds in the first four weeks of the research, and 10 pounds at the 12-week mark.
Is All Oatmeal Healthy?
Oats come in many forms, and so consumers must be wise about reading labels and knowing what they're consuming. The most raw form of oats is steel-cut oats and old-fashioned rolled oats. Other oats, such as quick-cooking oats, lose some of their benefit because they are more processed, but the dieter will still get some benefit from them. Be wary of instant, flavored oatmeals because additional processing and added sugar can make some of them a counter-productive diet choice.
James Rippe, director of the Rippe Institute and cardiologist and professor at Tufts University Medical School says, “Oatmeal is highly nutritious and a good source of fiber and other important nutrients. Oatmeal is also one of the most satisfying foods an individual can consume at breakfast, which makes it less likely that people will feel hungry later in the morning.”
For those trying to lose weight, oatmeal is an excellent breakfast choice. A high-quality, lower-processed oatmeal as part of a low-calorie diet and exercise routine will definitely result in weight loss in most individuals.
Source:
Oatmeal Can Be Part of Your Healthy Weight Loss Program, Quaker Oats website, accessed March 2010
Laura Wilson - Relatively new to the writing community, Laura Wilson is spending time writing about children, parenting, health, and education. She ...
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