That whole-grain cereal you’re eating may look like an ordinary breakfast.

But it could be an ally in the fight against fat.

A study published in The Journal of Nutrition suggests that older adults who eat plenty of whole grains are less likely to carry excess poundage around their waists.

In the study, researchers surveyed more than four-hundred adults between ages sixty and eighty.

The participants answered a lengthy questionnaire about their dietary habits. It asked about consumption of fiber-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains.

On average, participants got more fiber from grains than other sources, much of it from whole-grain items.

Researchers also took height and weight measurements for each participant, including estimates of excess fat in the lower abdomen.

The results showed that people who got the biggest percentages of their dietary fiber from grains also had the lowest body-fat percentages and least amount of surplus pounds around their middles.

This held true even after statistical techniques eliminated the influence of exercise and other healthy behaviors.

So apparently, grains have superior fat-fighting properties.

Another point… on average, participants only ate one-point-five servings of whole-grain products each day.

That suggests it’s not necessary to wolf down huge quantities of oatmeal and brown rice to get the benefits whole grains provide.

The researchers recommended that people over fifty consume at least twenty-one grams of dietary fiber every day, half of it from whole-grain products.

So if you’re struggling with the battle of the bulge, this is a strategy worth trying.

You have nothing to lose… except your belly.