An Egg Based Breakfast Maintains Flexibility in Older Adults

Aging is associated with an increased risk for metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. There is reason to believe that the time of day when specific food groups are eaten affects this risk. The investigators propose that eating foods made up of fat and protein (such as eggs) in the morning for breakfast, rather than foods made up of carbohydrates (such as white-bread toast or sugary cereal) may promote a healthier metabolism. This is because the body is designed to burn fat during times of fasting, such as overnight, during sleep. Thus, the body is not prepared to burn sugar early in the morning, when most people eat breakfast. Studies with mice have shown that a sugary breakfast meal inhibits the ability of the body to burn fat for the entire day. In contrast, a breakfast meal with more fat enabled the animals to burn fat as well as other fuels throughout the day. The ability to burn fat is thought to minimize risk for obesity, as well as related diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The purpose of this study is to determine if, in older adult humans, consumption of a lower-carbohydrate breakfast meal (relative to a higher-carbohydrate meal) is associated with a healthier metabolism.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Heart Diseases; Diabetes
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: High fat breakfast; Other: Higher carbohydrate breakfast

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 33
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 55 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• • Age 55-75

  • Body mass index 24-29 kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria:

• • Current practice of greater than 2h/wk of moderate intentional exercise

  • Uncontrolled diabetes
  • Unwillingness to eat study diets
  • Use of any medication known to affect metabolism
  • History of eating disorder
  • Difficulty chewing and swallowing solid food
  • Digestive diseases
  • Cognitive impairment
  • Depression
  • Recent weight change (+/- 10 lbs. in the last 12 mo.)
  • Poorly controlled blood pressure (SBP > 159 or DBP >95 mm Hg)
  • History of non-skin cancer in the last 5 y
  • Cardiovascular disease event in the past 6 mo.
  • Severe pulmonary disease
  • Renal failure
  • Major liver dysfunction (elevation of liver transaminases >3x normal in past 2 y; current/recent smoker (within 6 mo.)
  • Use of estrogen or testosterone replacement therapy
  • Current use of oral corticosteroids >5 days/month on average
  • Current use of medications for treatment of psychosis or manic-depressive illness
  • Use of weight loss medications in the previous 3 months
  • Unable to adhere to diet recommendations

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: High fat breakfast; 45% fat 35% Carbohydrate 20% protein	Other: High fat breakfast; High fat breakfast
Experimental: Higher carbohydrate breakfast; 60% carbohydrate 20% fat 20% protein	Other: Higher carbohydrate breakfast; Higher carbohydrate breakfast

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Respiratory quotient (RQ, a measure of substrate oxidation)	24 hour respiratory quotient will be measured using whole-room indirect calorimetry	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Barbara Gower, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Bush NC, Resuehr HES, Goree LL, Locher JL, Bray MS, Soleymani T, Gower BA. A High-Fat Compared with a High-Carbohydrate Breakfast Enhances 24-Hour Fat Oxidation in Older Adults. J Nutr. 2018 Feb 1;148(2):220-226. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxx040.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 14, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 30, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): October 30, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 15, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 22, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): May 23, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 23, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 22, 2017
• Last Verified: May 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Heart Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2148 (Inselspital)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No