A new study has found that people who eat increased servings of fruits and vegetables tend to lose more weight than others.
Researchers at Harvard followed the diets of 117,918 participants in their 30s and 40s. The participants’ diets were tracked in four-year intervals for a total of 24 years.
Researchers found that larger overall servings of fruits and vegetables led to general weight loss—but they also found that specific kinds of fruits and vegetables correlated to an even higher weight loss.
Researchers explained that berries, for example, led to higher weight loss than other fruits. While berries resulted in over a pound of weight loss over four years, other fruits led to an average of about half a pound lost during the same time period. Apples and pears also had a strong effect. They led to weight loss of 1.24 pounds per extra daily serving.
Among vegetables, researchers found that starchy options led to weight gain, instead of weight loss. Corn, peas, and potatoes were among the worst culprits. On the other hand, tofu/soy and cauliflower ranked highly. Tofu/soy resulted in an average of 2.5 pounds lost per person. Participants who increased their cauliflower intake lost an extra of 1.37 pounds. Just for comparison: an overall increase in vegetables led to about .25 pounds lost per daily serving.
Most people know that their diets matter, and that what they eat will affect the way they look and feel. But this new study has indicated that some foods have a larger affect than others—and that some foods affect us in different ways than others. Hopefully, these findings will allow dieters to draw up more personalized, precise diets. Instead of trying to lose weight by eating less, it might make more sense to eat more—as long as you’re keeping your eye on what exactly it is you’re eating.
