Fruits and Vegetables For Better Weight Control

As the low carb craze is making another round in the fad diet world, we often forget the importance of fruits and vegetables in our over all health.  In addition to all of the vitamins and minerals that they provide for your overall health, Fruits and Vegetables can help you avoid extra weight as you age.  A new study analyzing data on 133,468 men and women over up to 24 years reports that eating more fruits and non-starchy vegetables is associated with modest weight loss. The weight-control benefits were greater for fruits than vegetables, and strongest for certain types of produce: berries, apples and pears, citrus fruits, tofu and soy, cauliflower, other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and leafy green vegetables.  Phenolic-rich fruits, such as berries and apples, were most strongly linked to less weight gain.


Studies that tracked diet and weight loss over a long period found vegetables higher in fiber and lower in glycemic load such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts were more strongly associated with maintaining a healthy weight. Greater fruit intake was associated with weight benefits regardless of fiber content or glycemic load.

Intakes of starchy vegetables such as corn, peas and potatoes were each associated with more weight gain, however. (The potatoes result was for boiled, baked or mashed potatoes, and doesn’t even include popular forms such as potato chips or French fries.) Corn was most strongly associated with weight gain, with each daily serving linked to 2.04 extra pounds every four years.  Although these starchy vegetables have nutritional value, such as potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, iron, fiber and protein, they have a higher glycemic load.  This large amount of starch likely explains their ssociation with weight gain.

APPLES, BERRIES AND MORE: Each incremental daily serving of fruit was associated with weight loss of 0.53 pounds. (The study looked only at whole fruit, not juice.) When individual fruits were analyzed, increased intakes of blueberries, prunes, apples, pears, strawberries, grapes and raisins, and grapefruit were inversely associated with four-year weight changes. Strongest benefits were seen for fruits rich in phenolics, biologically active plant compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

All fruits and vegetables bring something to your table in terms of nutrition. If you’re watching your weight or concerned about "middle-age spread," however, eating more fruits and non-starchy vegetables in place of less-healthy foods might improve what you see when you step on the scale.

Since this is National Salad Week, there is no better time to add some fruit and vegetables to your day.

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Fruits and Vegetables Linked to Better Weight Control - Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter Article