“Eat more, weigh less” sounds like a slogan for the type of weight loss products you find on the back pages of your favorite woman’s magazine. But, a study in the August 2006 issue of Journal of the American Dietetic Association has found that people who eat diets containing a lot of low energy density foods, such as fruits and vegetables, eat more than people who eat diets rich in energy-dense foods (such as chips and other snack foods with high fat contents). Despite eating a greater amount of food, by weight, people eating a low energy density diet consume fewer calories. So, they can indeed eat more and weigh less than people who eat high energy dense diets.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. We know that nutrients vary in their calorie density, as shown below.
Food |
Kilocalories per gram |
|
|
Fat |
9 kcal/g |
Alcohol |
7.5 kcal/g |
Carbohydrates |
4 kcal/g |
Protein |
4 kcal/g |
Fiber |
1.5 to 2.5 kcal/g |
Water |
0 kcal/g |
Fruits and vegetables are water and fiber rich foods. So you get bulk and a feeling of satiety, but fewer calories than eating a food, such as French fries or a hamburger with mayo, that is loaded with fat and fat calories.
The low energy density diets in this study also provided more micronutrients, such as vitamins A, C, B-6, folate, iron, calcium and potassium than did the high energy density diets. Interestingly, although people consuming the high energy density diets had lower intake of these micronutrients, they were also less likely than the low energy density consumers to use multivitamin and/or multimineral supplements.
What were the specific differences in the foods consumed in these two types of diets? Compared with individuals who consumed a high-energy-density diet, a higher percentage of those eating a low energy density diet ate cereal/rice/pasta, citrus fruits, fruit juices, apples/bananas/melons/berries, and other fruits, starchy vegetables, dark-green/deep-yellow vegetables, tomatoes/lettuce/green beans (women only); other vegetables, reduced-fat milk, yogurt, poultry (men only), fish and legumes. A lower percentage consumed yeast breads (men only), baked goods, dry snacks (men only), fried potatoes, cheese (men only), red meats, processed meats, and nuts/seeds (men only). Sweetened carbonated soft drinks were consumed by more high vs. low energy density dieters. Low energy density diet men drank more wine and less beer/ale than men with high energy density diets.
From a global perspective, it is interesting to note that as societies move away from their traditional diets rich in low energy foods and eat more high energy dense foods, such as many of those categorized as “fast foods,” we have seen the epidemic of obesity spread from the developed world to developing countries. The same is true for the linked epidemic of Type 2 diabetes.
For those of you who are fans of PEERtrainer’s Calorie Wiki, the results of this study probably come as no surprise. Once you start examining the nutritional value labels of foods, it becomes clear that some foods are jam-packed with calories (and often have miniscule portion sizes) and others have a low caloric density, allowing the consumption of larger quantities.
The take home lesson: a reasonable (and sustainable) approach to weight loss and maintenance of a healthy weight involves making a switch from a high energy density diet to one full of nutritious and satisfying low energy density foods.
Eat more fruits and veggies, weigh less.