18

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper!

or

Eat like a king in the morning, a prince at noon, and a peasant at dinner

The abovementioned proverb doesn't mention how, for example, eating like a king is defined nor does it contain any reason why one should do it, but it is safe to assume that following it would be seen as healthier than any other distribution / relation of the amount eaten per mealtime, assuming that we eat three times a day.

Here are some sources to show that this is a notable claim:

Improve this question
11
  • 1
    Related Question: skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/4136/…
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Oct 1, 2014 at 8:43
  • 2
    I find casting the meals as verbs more euphonious: Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dine like a pauper.
    – TRiG
    Oct 1, 2014 at 12:07
  • 3
    It is not known for sure if we need three meals a day. See biology.stackexchange.com/q/16512/6422
    – Cornelius
    Oct 1, 2014 at 19:29
  • 3
    There is a very similar proverb in Russian. "Eat breakfast yourself. Share lunch with your friend. Give your dinner to your enemy" The concept of eating early in the day is a widely believed one.
    – Andrey
    Oct 3, 2014 at 13:25
  • 1
    @NateEldredge I could remove every trace of the proverb in my post and the question would still remain: Is it healthier to eat a lot in the morning, less in the noon and little in the evening?, but the proverb is definitely often understood that way. (Just search for one version of it and look at what people write about it.)
    – Joschua
    Oct 6, 2014 at 12:12

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
6

Yes, there is evidence to suggest that eating breakfast like a king is beneficial.

High caloric intake at breakfast vs. dinner differentially influences weight loss of overweight and obese women. concludes that

High-calorie breakfast with reduced intake at dinner is beneficial and might be a useful alternative for the management of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Other research:

Conclusions: Breakfast led to increased satiety through increased fullness and PYY concns. in breakfast skipping' adolescents. A breakfast rich in dietary protein provides addnl. benefits through redns. in appetite and energy intake. These findings suggest that the addition of a protein-rich breakfast might be an effective strategy to improve appetite control in young people.

The addition of a protein-rich breakfast and its effects on acute appetite control and food intake in breakfast-skipping' adolescents

The results suggest that the morning intake association with reduced total intake is macronutrient specific, with morning carbohydrate, fat and protein intake associated with reduced daily carbohydrate, fat and protein intake, respectively.

The time of day and the proportions of macronutrients eaten are related to total daily food intake.

The initial and sustained feelings of fullness following protein consumption at breakfast suggests that the timing of protein intake differentially influences satiety during ER [Energy Restriction].

Increased dietary protein consumed at breakfast leads to an initial and sustained feeling of fullness during energy restriction compared to other meal times.

Improve this answer
2
  • 3
    I've added the citations for you, please make sure you include them in the future (and also double check the links, they were broken)
    – Sklivvz
    Jan 18, 2015 at 13:59
  • It seems to me that healtier here is intended as "making you lose weight" which is the opposite most people need for their health.
    – gurghet
    Jan 1, 2020 at 14:58

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .