Fries Fatten Widening Waistlines

French fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meat were linked to greater long-term weight gain in nonobese adults, while consumption of yogurt, nuts, fruits, and whole grains led to weight loss, according to an analysis in the June 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

But the relationships between dietary and activity factors on the one hand and weight gain on the other were complex, with certain foods and behaviors having a much greater impact than others on weight change over time, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and his associates.

Photo credit: © Aleksandr Stennikov/Fotolia.com

"Our findings suggest that both individual and population-based strategies to help people consume fewer calories may be most effective when particular foods and beverages are targeted for decreased (or increased) consumption," they noted.

Healthy, normal-weight adults gained an average of approximately 3.5 pounds every 4 years in an analysis of data from three separate prospective cohort studies.

The investigators examined lifestyle changes and weight changes in 50,422 women participating in the Nurses Health Study, 47,898 women participating in the Nurses Health Study II, and 22,557 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. All of the study subjects were free of obesity and chronic diseases at baseline.

Weight changes were assessed at 4-year intervals. The average weight gain across all three cohorts was 3.35 pounds during each interval, for an overall gain of 16.8 pounds over 20 years.

"Average long-term weight gain in nonobese populations is gradual – in the cohorts we studied, about 0.8 pounds per year – but accumulated over time, even modest increases in weight have implications for long-term adiposity-related metabolic dysfunction, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer," the investigators said (N. Engl. J. Med. 2011;364:2392-404).

The relationships among dietary factors, physical activity, and weight change were comparable between men and women, attesting to the validity and generalizability of the findings.

Weight gain was significantly associated with consumption of starches, refined grains, and processed foods. Specifically, a 4-year weight gain correlated with higher intake of potato chips (gain of 1.69 pounds), sugar-sweetened drinks (gain of 1 pound), alcohol (0.41 pounds), unprocessed red meats (gain of 0.95 pounds), and processed meats (gain of 0.93 pounds).

Although potato consumption overall was associated with a 4-year weight gain of 1.28 pounds, french fries in particular were linked to greater 4-year weight gain (3.35 pounds) than were boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes (0.57 pounds). In fact, french fry consumption was associated with the greatest weight gain of any food in the study.

It seems likely that consumption of these foods is "less satiating, which increases subsequent hunger signals and total caloric intake, as compared with equivalent numbers of calories obtained from less processed, higher-fiber foods that also contain healthy fats and protein," Dr. Mozaffarian and his colleagues said.

In contrast, 4-year weight gain was inversely related to intake of vegetables (loss of 0.22 pounds), whole grains (loss of 0.37 pounds), fruits (loss of 0.49 pounds), nuts (loss of 0.57 pounds), and yogurt (loss of 0.82 pounds).This is likely because greater intake of these high-fiber, slower-to-digest foods is accompanied by less intake of starchy, processed foods.

Yogurt consumption was associated with less weight gain across all three cohorts. "Intriguing evidence suggests that changes in colonic bacteria might influence weight gain," the researchers said.

Increased intake of all liquids except milk was associated with weight gain. Other studies have suggested that liquids are less satiating than solid foods are, so people who drink a lot of liquids still eat the same amount of solid food, for an overall increase in total energy consumed.

There were no significant differences in weight gain between people who consumed skim or low-fat milk and those who consumed whole milk. In addition, there was a "relatively neutral association" between intake of most dairy foods and weight gain.

Changes in physical activity were independently associated with weight changes.

Specifically, increased television viewing correlated with weight gain (0.31 pounds), presumably because it is sedentary itself but also encourages snacking during such viewing and influences poor food choices at other times. Increased physical activity was associated with a decrease of nearly 2 pounds per 4-year interval.

Both increased and decreased sleep time – getting less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours of sleep per day – were associated with increased weight gain. This finding is similar to those from cross-sectional studies linking shorter sleep duration with obesity.

"A habitual energy imbalance of about 50-100 kcal/day may be sufficient to cause the gradual weight gain seen in most persons. This means that unintended weight gain occurs easily, but also that modest, sustained changes in lifestyle could mitigate or reverse such an energy imbalance," the researchers noted.

The National Institutes of Health and the Searle Scholars Program supported the study. Dr. Mozaffarian and his associates reported ties to Nutrition Impact, Foodminds, Aramark, Unilever, SPRIM, UpToDate, GlaxoSmithKline, Sigma-Tau, Pronova, Amgen, the Institute of Food Technologies, Merck, and the California Walnut Commission.

French fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meat were linked to greater long-term weight gain in nonobese adults, while consumption of yogurt, nuts, fruits, and whole grains led to weight loss, according to an analysis in the June 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

But the relationships between dietary and activity factors on the one hand and weight gain on the other were complex, with certain foods and behaviors having a much greater impact than others on weight change over time, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and his associates.

Photo credit: © Aleksandr Stennikov/Fotolia.com

"Our findings suggest that both individual and population-based strategies to help people consume fewer calories may be most effective when particular foods and beverages are targeted for decreased (or increased) consumption," they noted.

Healthy, normal-weight adults gained an average of approximately 3.5 pounds every 4 years in an analysis of data from three separate prospective cohort studies.

The investigators examined lifestyle changes and weight changes in 50,422 women participating in the Nurses Health Study, 47,898 women participating in the Nurses Health Study II, and 22,557 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. All of the study subjects were free of obesity and chronic diseases at baseline.

Weight changes were assessed at 4-year intervals. The average weight gain across all three cohorts was 3.35 pounds during each interval, for an overall gain of 16.8 pounds over 20 years.

"Average long-term weight gain in nonobese populations is gradual – in the cohorts we studied, about 0.8 pounds per year – but accumulated over time, even modest increases in weight have implications for long-term adiposity-related metabolic dysfunction, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer," the investigators said (N. Engl. J. Med. 2011;364:2392-404).

The relationships among dietary factors, physical activity, and weight change were comparable between men and women, attesting to the validity and generalizability of the findings.

Weight gain was significantly associated with consumption of starches, refined grains, and processed foods. Specifically, a 4-year weight gain correlated with higher intake of potato chips (gain of 1.69 pounds), sugar-sweetened drinks (gain of 1 pound), alcohol (0.41 pounds), unprocessed red meats (gain of 0.95 pounds), and processed meats (gain of 0.93 pounds).

Although potato consumption overall was associated with a 4-year weight gain of 1.28 pounds, french fries in particular were linked to greater 4-year weight gain (3.35 pounds) than were boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes (0.57 pounds). In fact, french fry consumption was associated with the greatest weight gain of any food in the study.

It seems likely that consumption of these foods is "less satiating, which increases subsequent hunger signals and total caloric intake, as compared with equivalent numbers of calories obtained from less processed, higher-fiber foods that also contain healthy fats and protein," Dr. Mozaffarian and his colleagues said.

In contrast, 4-year weight gain was inversely related to intake of vegetables (loss of 0.22 pounds), whole grains (loss of 0.37 pounds), fruits (loss of 0.49 pounds), nuts (loss of 0.57 pounds), and yogurt (loss of 0.82 pounds).This is likely because greater intake of these high-fiber, slower-to-digest foods is accompanied by less intake of starchy, processed foods.

Yogurt consumption was associated with less weight gain across all three cohorts. "Intriguing evidence suggests that changes in colonic bacteria might influence weight gain," the researchers said.

Increased intake of all liquids except milk was associated with weight gain. Other studies have suggested that liquids are less satiating than solid foods are, so people who drink a lot of liquids still eat the same amount of solid food, for an overall increase in total energy consumed.

There were no significant differences in weight gain between people who consumed skim or low-fat milk and those who consumed whole milk. In addition, there was a "relatively neutral association" between intake of most dairy foods and weight gain.

Changes in physical activity were independently associated with weight changes.

Specifically, increased television viewing correlated with weight gain (0.31 pounds), presumably because it is sedentary itself but also encourages snacking during such viewing and influences poor food choices at other times. Increased physical activity was associated with a decrease of nearly 2 pounds per 4-year interval.

Both increased and decreased sleep time – getting less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours of sleep per day – were associated with increased weight gain. This finding is similar to those from cross-sectional studies linking shorter sleep duration with obesity.

"A habitual energy imbalance of about 50-100 kcal/day may be sufficient to cause the gradual weight gain seen in most persons. This means that unintended weight gain occurs easily, but also that modest, sustained changes in lifestyle could mitigate or reverse such an energy imbalance," the researchers noted.

The National Institutes of Health and the Searle Scholars Program supported the study. Dr. Mozaffarian and his associates reported ties to Nutrition Impact, Foodminds, Aramark, Unilever, SPRIM, UpToDate, GlaxoSmithKline, Sigma-Tau, Pronova, Amgen, the Institute of Food Technologies, Merck, and the California Walnut Commission.

French fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meat were linked to greater long-term weight gain in nonobese adults, while consumption of yogurt, nuts, fruits, and whole grains led to weight loss, according to an analysis in the June 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

But the relationships between dietary and activity factors on the one hand and weight gain on the other were complex, with certain foods and behaviors having a much greater impact than others on weight change over time, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and his associates.

Photo credit: © Aleksandr Stennikov/Fotolia.com

"Our findings suggest that both individual and population-based strategies to help people consume fewer calories may be most effective when particular foods and beverages are targeted for decreased (or increased) consumption," they noted.

Healthy, normal-weight adults gained an average of approximately 3.5 pounds every 4 years in an analysis of data from three separate prospective cohort studies.

The investigators examined lifestyle changes and weight changes in 50,422 women participating in the Nurses Health Study, 47,898 women participating in the Nurses Health Study II, and 22,557 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. All of the study subjects were free of obesity and chronic diseases at baseline.

Weight changes were assessed at 4-year intervals. The average weight gain across all three cohorts was 3.35 pounds during each interval, for an overall gain of 16.8 pounds over 20 years.

"Average long-term weight gain in nonobese populations is gradual – in the cohorts we studied, about 0.8 pounds per year – but accumulated over time, even modest increases in weight have implications for long-term adiposity-related metabolic dysfunction, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer," the investigators said (N. Engl. J. Med. 2011;364:2392-404).

The relationships among dietary factors, physical activity, and weight change were comparable between men and women, attesting to the validity and generalizability of the findings.

Weight gain was significantly associated with consumption of starches, refined grains, and processed foods. Specifically, a 4-year weight gain correlated with higher intake of potato chips (gain of 1.69 pounds), sugar-sweetened drinks (gain of 1 pound), alcohol (0.41 pounds), unprocessed red meats (gain of 0.95 pounds), and processed meats (gain of 0.93 pounds).

Although potato consumption overall was associated with a 4-year weight gain of 1.28 pounds, french fries in particular were linked to greater 4-year weight gain (3.35 pounds) than were boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes (0.57 pounds). In fact, french fry consumption was associated with the greatest weight gain of any food in the study.

It seems likely that consumption of these foods is "less satiating, which increases subsequent hunger signals and total caloric intake, as compared with equivalent numbers of calories obtained from less processed, higher-fiber foods that also contain healthy fats and protein," Dr. Mozaffarian and his colleagues said.

In contrast, 4-year weight gain was inversely related to intake of vegetables (loss of 0.22 pounds), whole grains (loss of 0.37 pounds), fruits (loss of 0.49 pounds), nuts (loss of 0.57 pounds), and yogurt (loss of 0.82 pounds).This is likely because greater intake of these high-fiber, slower-to-digest foods is accompanied by less intake of starchy, processed foods.

Yogurt consumption was associated with less weight gain across all three cohorts. "Intriguing evidence suggests that changes in colonic bacteria might influence weight gain," the researchers said.

Increased intake of all liquids except milk was associated with weight gain. Other studies have suggested that liquids are less satiating than solid foods are, so people who drink a lot of liquids still eat the same amount of solid food, for an overall increase in total energy consumed.

There were no significant differences in weight gain between people who consumed skim or low-fat milk and those who consumed whole milk. In addition, there was a "relatively neutral association" between intake of most dairy foods and weight gain.

Changes in physical activity were independently associated with weight changes.

Specifically, increased television viewing correlated with weight gain (0.31 pounds), presumably because it is sedentary itself but also encourages snacking during such viewing and influences poor food choices at other times. Increased physical activity was associated with a decrease of nearly 2 pounds per 4-year interval.

Both increased and decreased sleep time – getting less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours of sleep per day – were associated with increased weight gain. This finding is similar to those from cross-sectional studies linking shorter sleep duration with obesity.

"A habitual energy imbalance of about 50-100 kcal/day may be sufficient to cause the gradual weight gain seen in most persons. This means that unintended weight gain occurs easily, but also that modest, sustained changes in lifestyle could mitigate or reverse such an energy imbalance," the researchers noted.

The National Institutes of Health and the Searle Scholars Program supported the study. Dr. Mozaffarian and his associates reported ties to Nutrition Impact, Foodminds, Aramark, Unilever, SPRIM, UpToDate, GlaxoSmithKline, Sigma-Tau, Pronova, Amgen, the Institute of Food Technologies, Merck, and the California Walnut Commission.