Breakfast is considered ‘the most important meal of the day’ and indeed it should be since it is like breaking the fast of the prior night. However, research on this is kind of conflicting. Nevertheless, in layman terms, a delicious breakfast is definitely a great start to the day. However most of us are on the run, so we tend to skip meals and that is mostly breakfast. And the food industry seizes this as an opportunity to start a new trend of on the go breakfast in the form of ready to eat cereals, breakfast bars, and shakes. Breakfast bars being the most convenient ones are sometimes consumed as a mid-morning snack or even as a meal replacement. But do these breakfast bars have a beneficial effect on our health and body composition? What are Breakfast Bars Made of? Breakfast typically consists of a source of healthy carbs like cereals, protein like sprouts or eggs and a beverage which would be milk, tea or coffee.

Breakfast bars seem to imitate the components of a healthy breakfast. This makes the so-called ‘healthy breakfast bar’ seem more like a processed food item. So when you say a breakfast bar is healthy you should either evaluate its ingredients first or change your definition of healthy. Having commented on the ingredient list of breakfast bars, it would be necessary to mention that this is not applicable to all breakfast bars; some of them are pretty good you just need to know which one. Research studies haven’t typically assessed the efficacy of breakfast bars in causing weight loss but their effect on other aspects of health has been studied and documented. Different dietary strategies have been devised to control appetite and the frequency of eating and snacking influences appetite. In this study the effect of a conventional snack (cereal bar) and non-conventional snack (almonds) on hunger was studied. Higher frequency of eating was observed in almond snack group than cereal bar and MedicGLP control group.

Neither of the interventions led to weight gain which suggests that cereal bar consumption is more satiating and effective in controlling appetite. Rothacker et al have found that thickness of meal replacement drinks influences satiety and controls appetite for 3 hours. They conducted a similar study on meal replacement bars. The bar used in the study contained 250 calories (about 30 more than most liquid diet shakes), 4 g dietary fiber, 14 g protein, and 8 g fat. Individuals were asked to consume the bar after an overnight fast and it was observed that meal replacement bars contained only 30 calories more than liquid but they helped in controlling appetite for 5 hours. Some researchers do not agree with the idea that fiber dense foods promote satiety. In this study bars made from oat bran, barley bran or having low fiber content were assessed. They were consumed at dinner and subsequent morning for breakfast. Oddly no change in appetite or energy intake at lunch was observed.

Addition of fibers like guar gum, alginate and beta glucan (fiber found in oats) also don’t seem to affect the effect of breakfast bars on satiety. What does this mean? Research shows that breakfast bars and similar items are effective in controlling appetite up to 5 hours. However some scientists do oppose the idea that rich fiber content of snack bars can help in promoting satiety. A clinical trial was conducted where for 3 months one group received conventional food and the other had 2 meals and 2 snacks replaced with nutrition bars and shakes. The study was extended for four years and results were consistent. A study was conducted wherein the effect of traditional food and meal replacement food items was studied. Daily energy intake was restricted to 5400kJ per day. The meal replacement groups received 1-2 meal replacement drinks or bars per day. The bars provided 220 Calories with 8 grams of protein, 33 to 36 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of dietary fiber, and 5 grams of fat.

They also contained 25-35% of daily nutrient intake. Weight loss was almost similar in both groups (6kg in traditional food group and 5kg in meal replacement group) but the diet of traditional food group was lacking in essential vitamins and minerals. Researchers concluded that there is a need to include fortified foods in diets to meet the daily nutrient requirement. Another study also reported that addition of calcium-fortified cereal bars to regular diet increased dietary calcium intake without causing weight gain. In a research study, 10 lean men were asked to have a whey protein and polydextrose snack bar or an isocaloric snack bar as mid day snack. It was found that the days on which subjects ate the protein bar they had lower energy intake and this bar reduced the level of hunger hormone-ghrelin and increased the levels of satiety hormones like PYY and GLP-1. What does this mean? Using snack/breakfast bars as meal replacement is proven to cause significant weight loss in the long term especially when the calorie content of the bar is lower than your regular energy intake.