A bowl of cereal for breakfast is the healthiest start to the day

London, Dec 10 (ANI): Besides exercise, a bowl of cereal is the healthiest way to start a day, a 10-year study has found.

The study of 2,379 teenage girls in the US by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute came to conclusion that people who eat cereal also consume more milk than normal and eat less fatty foods, meat, eggs and sugary drinks.

During the day, cereal lovers also consume more fibre and carbohydrates and even do more physical exercise, the study found.

The study's researchers, who set out to find out why breakfast is often described as the best meal of the day, said that consumption of cereal goes hand in hand with other positive habits, like exercise.

In the study, the lifestyle of cereal eaters was compared to that of people who had other types of breakfast.

Cereal provides more fibre, iron, folic acid, and zinc and less fat, sodium, sugar, and cholesterol, compared with other breakfast foods.

Researchers also found that people who eat cereal have better overall diets. They drink more milk eat less fat, sweets, bread and fizzy drinks.

Scientists also recorded a big jump in physical activity on days when cereal was eaten.

"Eating cereal for breakfast may have implications for healthier eating throughout the day, as cereal eaters ate more fibre and less fat all day," the Daily Express quoted the researchers, as saying."It is possible those who start the day eating well continue this pattern and it leads to a commitment to healthy eating in general. The findings have implications for dieticians, who might promote the importance of eating cereal at breakfast," they added. (ANI)