Although many people in dietitian jobs will be familiar with the principle, the role of protein in beneficial breakfasts has been emphasised to the public recently thanks to new research.

A study published in Nutrition Research indicates that eating a protein-rich breakfast can help reduce calorie consumption throughout the day and by extension, help encourage a healthier diet overall. According to the study eating egg - one of most protein-rich foods used in breakfast meals - can help reduce calorie consumption throughout the day by up to 18%.

Researchers found that out of the men involved in their study, those who consumed an egg-based breakfast ate significantly less calories when offered an unlimited lunch buffet, than when they ate a carbohydrate rich breakfast consisting of bagels. Both meals were of equal volume and calorie content.

The Telegraph reports that on separate days, the 21 men involved in the study rotated between the two breakfasts. The egg-based one consisted of three scrambled eggs and one-and-a-half pieces of white toast; the bagel-based breakfast was one plain bagel, one half-tablespoon of low fat cream cheese and six ounces of low-fat yogurt.

Although both had the same calorie content, when the volunteers were given a buffet lunch three hours later, they ate an average of 112 less calories after an egg-based breakfast than the bagel-based breakfast. Over 24 hours the egg-diet resulted in approximately 400 fewer calories consumed per person.

These effects could be traced to increased levels of the hormone ghrelin found in blood tests after the bagel breakfast. Ghrelin stimulates hunger and as the relevant receptor in the stomach is a protein-couple receptor, it could be blocked by an increased intake of protein.