Vitamin G

Can a Bowl of Oatmeal Help You Lose Weight?

There's nothing quite as cozy as a warm bowl of oatmeal on a cold morning—and now, new research says having a serving oaty goodness may even actually aid in weight loss.

For a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at Louisiana State University gave nearly 50 adults either oatmeal or a sweetened oat cold cereal that contained the same amount of calories to eat. Then they switched.

The results: when people ate the hot oatmeal—higher in fiber and lower in sugar than cereal—they felt significantly fuller than when they ate the cold cereal, so they weren't as hungry after eating it. Which kind of adds some validity to that "oatmeal sticks to your ribs" thing your grandma told you.

The researchers say that oatmeal is rich with a type of bulky soluble fiber. When it's heated up, the fiber bulks up even more—and it stays that way in your belly, which means it moves more slowly through your gastrointestinal tract and can possibly reduce the chances of midmorning snacking on those doughnuts someone left on the conference table.

What do you think of the study? Do you eat oatmeal for breakfast?

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