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Title: Dieter's Dream: How to Eat More and Still Lose Weight
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When it comes to dieting, bigger food is better.

That may be surprising to dieters who've struggled to cut calories by
eating less food. But a growing body of research now supports the
notion that it's the energy density of foods — not the amount we eat
or even the overall fat content — that most contributes to weight
gain.

A food has a low energy density if it has few calories relative to its
weight. An easy way to choose these low-energy-dense foods is to choose
“big” foods — those that are bulked up by fiber and water. Chicken and
rice soup, for instance, has a low energy density, with just 0.5
calorie per gram. And it will be just as filling and less fattening as
a similar amount of cheese ravioli, which has 3.2 calories per gram.

Food labels don't tell you about energy density, so you have to do the
math yourself to calculate calories per gram. Foods that have up to 1.5
calories per gram are low energy dense. Foods with 1.5 to four calories
per gram are considered medium, while high-energy-dense foods have four
or more.

It might seem obvious that low-energy-dense foods such as chicken soup
are less fattening than the same amount of, say, potatoes au gratin.
But there are some surprises. Even a decadent-sounding cream of
broccoli soup with cheese has an energy density of just 0.8. But graham
crackers, though low in fat, have a high energy density, with 4.2
calories per gram.

WHEN MORE IS LESS
—————–

Here's how to lower the energy density of your diet so you can eat more
without increasing your caloric intake.

Switch to soups: Even creamy soups and rich stews have a lower energy
density than many foods.
Add bulk: Adding vegetables to pasta or casseroles or more veggies to a
salad lowers the energy density.
Beat your food: Smoothies and shakes fill you up longer the longer they
are whipped.
Substitute: Switch to low-fat dressings, cheeses and cooking oil in
recipes

• See a list of some low-energy-dense food options below.

And the energy-density idea works with indulgence foods, as well. M&M's
are considered a high-energy-dense food, with 4.9 calories per gram.
But for about the same calories of a package of M&M's, you could have a
slice of chocolate cake with frosting, at just 3.7 calories per gram,
or vanilla pudding made with 2% milk, at just one calorie per gram. And
you'd be left feeling far more satisfied.

The push to focus on the energy density of foods is backed by numerous
studies that show hunger tends to be satisfied by a certain volume of
food, regardless of the calorie content. In one Pennsylvania State
University study, researchers found that healthy women instinctively
ate about three pounds of food a day. It didn't matter if the foods
were high-calorie or low-calorie — the women were driven by volume,
not calories. Because we are accustomed to a certain volume of food,
when we try to cut back on the amount we eat, we feel hungry — which
is the main reason diets fail.

All of this runs counter to the notion that people who are overweight
are just eating too much food. Often those people are eating normal
amounts of food for their size — they are just choosing energy-dense
foods that cause them to continue to gain weight.

To really make an impact on weight, people need to consume far more
“big” foods like fruits, vegetables, salads and soups. That can
include, for instance, adding more vegetables to bulk up casseroles or
other dishes to lower the overall energy density of favorite foods.
Dieters should pay attention to basic nutrition and eat a balanced
diet, but they should also work to ease high-energy-dense foods out of
their diets.

The problem is that our taste buds don't always like low-energy-dense
foods as much as small convenience foods like snack chips and brownies.
But new research shows there are ways to use low-energy-dense foods to
help curb consumption of more fattening foods, without having to give
them up altogether.

In a study presented Monday at the annual meeting of the North American
Association for the Study of Obesity, Penn State researchers studied
how eating salad before a meal could affect total calories a diner ends
up consuming.

GOOD EATS
———

• Study Says Ranks of the Very Obese Widen Sharply

• Americans Are Starting to Shape Up, Eat Healthier

Diners were allowed to eat as much regular cheese tortellini as they
wanted. One group was just given the tortellini, while other groups
were told they had to eat a serving of salad first. The salads included
both high-calorie and low-calorie dressings and cheeses, and the size
varied from a 11/2 cup to three cups.

Researchers found that when diners pigged out on three cups of salad
with low-fat dressing, they ate 107 calories less — or about 12% fewer
calories for the meal than when they didn't eat a first-course salad.

The finding was surprising because studies have shown that first
courses tend to make people consume more calories, not less, because
variety can excite the appetite, which is why we forget we're full when
a tantalizing dessert arrives on the table.

In the case of the salad study, the first course had such low energy
density that it translated into fewer calories, despite the variety
effect. But be warned, the energy density of the salad matters as well.
Some diners were given a more energy-dense salad with full-fat dressing
and cheese. They ended up eating 145 calories more — or about 17% more
calories for the whole meal — than those who ate no salad at all.

“People aren't that sensitive to calories when they're eating –
they're more sensitive to volume,” says Penn State nutrition researcher
Barbara Rolls, who has led many of the energy-density studies. “After
eating the salads, if they had a lot of [the low-calorie one], it
helped them to eat less. But if the salad had a lot of calories, they
didn't compensate by reducing their intake during the rest of the
meal.”

The lesson for dieters is to binge on a healthy salad or other very
low-energy-dense foods before a meal. It's worth noting that dieters in
the study rated the salads equally satisfying, and didn't notice the
difference between the full-fat dressings and cheeses and the lower-fat
options. But if you want to indulge in full-fat dressing, you still
can, as long as you further lower the energy density by adding a lot
more vegetables.

Pump Up the Volume
——————

Here's a comparison of how much more you can eat and still consume
fewer calories by switching from high-energy-dense foods to lower-
energy-dense substitutes:

Right Column 1: Food Energy Density*
Right Column 2: Total Calories
Columns in random order:
———————————————-
1 jelly doughnut ……………….. 3.4 289
2 frozen waffles ……………….. 2.5 191
1 flour tortilla ……………….. 3.3 114
2 corn tortillas ……………….. 2.2 112
1/2 cup granola ……………….. 4.6 220
1 cup oatmeal ……………….. 0.6 145
1/4 cup raisins ……………….. 3.0 109
1 1/2 cup grapes ……………….. 0.7 92
M&M's plain (69 pc) …………….. 4.9 236
2 cream-filled chocolate cupcakes … 3.6 230
4 oz. margarita ……………….. 2.2 271
4 oz. white wine ……………….. 0.7 80
1 cup cheese ravioli ……………. 3.2 280
1 slice thick-crust cheese pizza … 2.9 202
2 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups …… 5.4 271
1 slice frosted chocolate cake ….. 3.7 235
1 cup cream of broccoli/cheese soup. 0.8 190
1 cup chicken noodle soup ………. 0.3 75
1 cup premium ice cream ……….. 2.6 540
12 oz. Hardee's vanilla shake ……. 1.0 350
8 oz. eggnog …………………… 1.4 342
8 oz. hot cocoa ……………….. 0.5 124
1 hotdog with bun ………………. 2.5 242
1 cup beef stew with vegetables ….. 0.9 220

Right Column 1: Food Energy Density*
Right Column 2: Total Calories
In sorted order, by energy density:
———————————————-
1 cup chicken noodle soup ………. 0.3 75
8 oz. hot cocoa ……………….. 0.5 124
1 cup oatmeal ……………….. 0.6 145
1 1/2 cup grapes ……………….. 0.7 92
4 oz. white wine ……………….. 0.7 80
1 cup cream of broccoli/cheese soup. 0.8 190
1 cup beef stew with vegetables ….. 0.9 220
12 oz. Hardee's vanilla shake ……. 1.0 350
8 oz. eggnog …………………… 1.4 342
2 corn tortillas ……………….. 2.2 112
4 oz. margarita ……………….. 2.2 271
2 frozen waffles ……………….. 2.5 191
1 hotdog with bun ………………. 2.5 242
1 cup premium ice cream ……….. 2.6 540
1 slice thick-crust cheese pizza … 2.9 202
1/4 cup raisins ……………….. 3.0 109
1 cup cheese ravioli ……………. 3.2 280
1 flour tortilla ……………….. 3.3 114
1 jelly doughnut ……………….. 3.4 289
2 cream-filled chocolate cupcakes … 3.6 230
1 slice frosted chocolate cake ….. 3.7 235
1/2 cup granola ……………….. 4.6 220
M&M's plain (69 pc) …………….. 4.9 236
2 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups …… 5.4 271

* Calories per gram

Source: “The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan,”
Barbara Rolls and Robert A. Barnett

——————————- ———————————
ABOUT TARA PARKER-POPE
Tara Parker-Pope writes Health Journal, a column devoted to exploring
health issues that directly affect our readers' daily lives — whether
it's alerting them to a new surgical glue that can replace stitches or
explaining how too much headache medicine can actually cause headaches.
The goal of Health Journal is to arm consumers with information that
will help them make informed choices about health and medicine.

Tara began writing Health Journal in January 2000. Before that, she
spent five years as a consumer-products reporter, first for The Wall
Street Journal Europe in London and most recently from the Journal's
New York headquarters. Previously, she worked as a political and
government reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Austin-American
Statesman. She is a 1988 graduate of the University of Texas, where she
majored in sociology.

A native of Arizona who grew up in Ohio, Tara is married to Kyle Pope.
They live in Manhattan with their daughter Laney.

Send your comments about Health Journal to [email protected].