A new study finds that fruits and vegetables may not necessarily aid people in losing weight.
Dietitians and health experts often recommend that people who are trying to lose weight should include a lot of fruits and vegetables in their diet. In fact, many weight loss diets are based on the concept of consuming only fruits and vegetables for a period. However, a new study found that this may not be entirely true.
Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a meta-analysis of several studies that included over 1200 participants. All these studies looked into how a fruit and vegetables diet affects weight loss. Researchers were surprised to find a near zero effect.
The researchers clarified that the study in no way takes away from the rich benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables. The researchers want to emphasize that the effectiveness of such diets on weight loss may not be as huge as previously believed.
"In the overall context of a healthy diet, energy reduction is the way to help lose weight, so to reduce weight you have to reduce caloric intake," study author Kathryn Kaiser said in a press statement. "People make the assumption that higher-fiber foods like fruits and vegetables will displace the less healthy foods, and that's a mechanism to lose weight; but our findings from the best available evidence show that effect doesn't seem to be present among people simply instructed to increase fruit and vegetable intake."
The researchers also pointed out that more quality research needed to be conducted to determine how multiple foods may interact to create healthy weight loss that can be maintained. The current recommended daily serving amount for adults is 1.5-2 cups of fruit and 2-3 cups of vegetables, according to a CDC report.
Earlier this year, researchers from the University College London said that a healthy diet should include 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, doubling the five-a-day official advice. Promoting the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables, the researchers said that canned and frozen fruit increased the risk of dying by 17 per cent. Also, people who ate at least seven portions of fruit and vegetables each day were 42 per cent less likely to die from any cause over the course.
Findings of the current study were published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
