The IAA One Minute Blog

Less expensive, easier to prepare, ultra processed foods can make you fat, a new study says.

New Study

People who were limited to a diet of primarily highly processed foods ate more calories and gained more weight than when their diet mostly consisted of minimally processed foods, according to a new study.  

During a one month study, 20 healthy adult volunteers stayed at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, where all of their meals were provided for them. For 14 days, they were limited to each diet and told they could eat as much or as little as they liked. The two versions of the meals had the same amounts of calories, sugars, fiber, fat, and carbohydrates.

On the ultra processed diet, people ate faster while consuming about 500 more calories a day than they did while on the unprocessed diet; this increase in calories was due to higher quantities of carbohydrates and fat, but not protein. As a result, they gained about two pounds on average.  While on a diet of unprocessed foods, they lost an equal amount of weight.

The ultra processed foods caused people to eat too many calories and gain weight, researchers concluded.

The gender of the participants, the order of their diet assignment and their body mass index did not influence the varying calories each participant ate on each diet, according to the study authors.

The small scale study is the first randomized controlled trial examining the effects of ultra processed foods.  Ultra processed foods are defined as containing ingredients such as:

• Hydrogenated oils
• High fructose corn syrup
• Flavoring agents
• Emulsifiers

The study was published on May 16 in the journal, “Cell Metabolism.”

Eat Right

In the United States, 61 percent of adults’ total diet comes from ultra processed food, in Canada, it is 62 percent, and in the United Kingdom it is 63 percent, a recent unrelated study found.  The United States Department of Agriculture has tips on how to keep your diet on track:

1. Enjoy your food, but eat less: Use a smaller plate at meals to help control the amount of food and calories you eat.
2. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
3. Drink water: Sip water or other drinks with few or no calories to help maintain a healthy weight.
4. Eat whole grains more often: Foods with high fiber content can help give you a feeling of fullness and also provide key nutrients.
5. Learn what is in foods: Use both ingredient and nutrition fact labels to discover what various foods contain.
6. Cut back on some foods: Cut calories by cutting out foods high in solid fats and added sugar.
7. Be active whenever you can.  

You can also try out healthier recipes that use less solid fat, salt and sugar.

What IAA has to Say

Insurance Administrator of America knows that everyone enjoys processed foods, but they should be more of a treat than a part of a regular diet. Making healthier choices is best in the long run. IAA knows you can make positive changes to your dietary habits.

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