Starting the day with a bowl of oatmeal can fit within a healthy weight loss plan.

A recent study conducted by the Rippe Lifestyle Institute has found that in addition to lowering cholesterol, eating oatmeal can also be part of a weight loss plan. The results of the study, which were presented on October 23, 2006 at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO), found that people who ate a bowl of Quaker Weight Control Instant Oatmeal as part of an overall reduced calorie weight loss plan, which included walking, lost significant amounts of weight and body fat when compared to control subjects who only exercised.

“Consuming oatmeal as part of an overall program for healthy weight loss makes a great deal of sense,” noted James Rippe, M.D., cardiologist and associate professor of medicine at Tufts University Medical School and Director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute. “Oatmeal is highly nutritious and a good source of fiber and other important nutrients. Oatmeal is also one of the most satisfying foods an individual can consume at breakfast, which makes it less likely that people will feel hungry later in the morning.”

The Study

Researchers examined 40 overweight or obese individuals (5 men and 35 women) during the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to a program of only walking for 15 to 30 minutes per day or walking plus a reduced calorie diet (a deficit of 500 calories per day), which included eating one packet of Quaker Weight Control Instant Oatmeal for breakfast each day. People in the oatmeal group lost an average of 5 pounds in the first four weeks of the study and an average of 10 pounds during the first 12 weeks of the study.

The people who only walked did not lose weight. People in the walking plus reduced calorie diet group, which included oatmeal, lost approximately one pound per week with significant weight loss apparent at one month and continuing for the twelve weeks of the study. “Previous studies have shown that oatmeal can contribute to lowering cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and now we have these additional data that oatmeal can also be part of a healthy weight loss program,” said Mark Andon, Ph.D., former Director of Nutrition for Quaker-Tropicana-Gatorade.

Other findings from the oatmeal plus walking group included:

• A decrease in waist circumference of 2”.
• A 5% reduction in body fat.
• 80% of the weight loss was from loss of fat with lean muscle mass largely preserved.