A low-calorie diet that starts with two eggs for breakfast did a better job of helping people lose weight than a one with a bagel, researchers said.

A team led by a psychologist from Saint Louis University put 152 overweight or obese people into four groups: two groups were told to have two eggs with breakfast every morning, and two groups were told to have a bagel that was equivalent in calories. Half of the egg people and half of the bagel people were also put on a low-fat diet with about 1,000 calories a day less than they would usually eat.

After eight weeks, the people on the restrictive egg diet had a lost an average of 5.7 pounds, compared to 3.4 pounds for those on the bagel diet. That is a 65 percent greater weight loss.

They also had a 34 percent greater reduction in waist size and a 16 percent greater drop in body fat, the researchers said in a news release.

Those who were told to eat either bagels or eggs but not given other restrictions did not have any significant changes.

The researchers wrote that the study showed that an egg breakfast as part of a low-calorie, low-fat diet may help people lose weight.