The old adage about breakfast being the most important meal of the day has long been backed up by apparent scientific fact. Breakfast eaters, for example, tend to be leaner than folks who skip the first meal of the day.

But you may want to digest some new data. A study out of Queens College in New York City shows breakfast eaters average fewer calories consumed per day than those who skip breakfast, and women who eat breakfast have a lower average body mass index (BMI) than women who don't eat breakfast.

But folks who eat really big breakfasts also tended to consume an abundance of calories and fat during the day, more than they needed, according to the study, which surveyed 12,300 people. And there was no difference in BMI among men who did or did not eat breakfast.

The take-away message, say researchers (who, incidentally, received funding from The Breakfast Research Institute, an industry group), is to eat breakfast, but make it modest and make it healthy.

In other words, a doughnut with coffee doesn't count.

MEDTRONICA

BAM! Body and mind

www.bam.gov

A colorful, cartoonish kids guide to health, nutrition, safety and physical activity, produced by the serious adults at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lots of age-related stuff, from trivia quizzes to animated explanations of the body's immune system.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

The average person ingests about one ton of food and drink each year.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

The average female fashion model weighs up to 25 percent less than a typical woman and maintains a weight that is 15 percent to 20 percent below what is considered healthy for her age and height.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A single serving of Chevy's Fresh Mex Original Famous Chicken Fajitas without tortillas (100 grams) contains 908 calories, 279 from fat. That's 48 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 147 milligrams of cholesterol (49 percent); 2,462 mg of sodium (103 percent); 92 grams of total carbohydrates (31 percent); 18g of dietary fiber (72 percent); 17g of sugar; and 67g of protein.

OBSERVATION

Never let your caloric intake exceed your white blood cell count.

— Humorist Beth Donahue

BEST MEDICINE

Fact: If all of the smokers were laid end to end around the world, three-quarters of them would drown.

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

In 17th-century Europe, a favorite laxative product was the "pil perpetuae," which was a pellet of the metallic element antimony. The laxative was expensive, but boasted this thrifty selling point: It was reusable.

As the name suggests, pil perpetuae was long lasting. After being swallowed, the pill passed through the body virtually unchanged. Consumers were advised to retrieve it at the end of the process, wash it off and use it again as needed.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Asthenophobia — fear of fainting

CURTAIN CALLS

In 1997, a struggling actor named Anthony Wheeler thought he had gotten a break when he landed the role of Judas in a low-budget regional production of the play "Jesus Christ Superstar."

One scene required Wheeler as Judas to hang himself from a scaffold. For 20 nights, Wheeler performed the scene to perfection, using a trick noose. On the 21st night, however, the trick noose failed as the curtain fell upon Judas' death scene.

No one realized there was a problem until the curtain pulled back again for the next scene and there was Wheeler, still hanging from the scaffold, dead.

To find out more about Scott Lafee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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