London, Jan 6: Want to fight the flab? Then, don’t miss your breakfast, for a new study has suggested that those who consume the morning meal are least likely to gain weight.

The study, led by Dr Nicholas Wareham from Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, studied the eating habits of 6,764 men and women aged between 40 and 75.

The results showed that those who ate the biggest breakfast put on the least amount of weight even though they consumed the most food through the course of an average day.

The researchers found those who obtained between 0 percent and 11 percent of their total daily energy intake at breakfast put on 1.23kg over 3.7 years, but middle-aged men and women who consumed between 22 percent and 50 percent, only put on 0.79kg over the same period.

Wareham said that energy intake among big-breakfasters was highest, while increase in body-mass index, and weight, was lowest.

The research also revealed that skipping breakfast starves the body of nutrients and prompts it to store more of lunches and dinners as fat.

"In our study, all participants gained weight over the follow-up period, on average; however, our data indicates that consuming a higher proportion of total daily calories at breakfast is associated with relatively lower weight gain in middle age,” the Scotsman quoted the researchers, as saying.

David Haslam, of the National Obesity Forum, said: "If you start off eating something slow burning such as porridge or fruit, that is good because it will keep you ticking over until lunchtime, meaning you will not need to snack in the morning and you won't have the sugar or insulin surges that can lead to weight gain." (ANI)