I’ve often heard the question, “which are the worst foods to eat if you’re trying to lose weight”? While there are no “good” or “bad” foods, some foods and habits may encourage us to eat more.

Researchers from the University of Kansas used past data to find the various meal factors determining the number of calories consumed. They discovered that three meal characteristics repeatedly led to increased calorie consumption across four different diet patterns: meal energy density (calories per gram of food), the amount of “hyper-palatable” foods, and how fast the meals were eaten. The amount of protein per meal was also factored into calorie intake, but the effect was less consistent.

KU researcher Tera Fazzino first defined hyper-palatable foods as having a deadly combo platter of fat, sugar, sodium, and carbohydrates in 2019. Foods like potato chips, which are delicious and difficult to stop eating. Remember the old Lays ad, “you can’t just eat one”? They were on to something.

Fazzino and her researchers wanted to find out how hyper-palatable food characteristics and other factors impact the number of calories a person eats in a meal. Fazzino is the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment associate director at the KU Life Span Institute and an assistant professor in the KU Department of Psychology.

Along with scientists from the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Fazzino published that hyper-palatability increased the amount of food consumed across four diet patterns: low-carbohydrate, low-fat, a diet based on unprocessed foods and one based on ultra-processed foods. The research was published in the journal Nature Food.

Weight management recommendations could be based on understanding how certain foods lead to people eating fewer calories without leaving them hungry. Dieters are often advised to cut out high-calorie foods like cookies or cheese, which can result in mindless overeating. Nutrient-dense foods like apples, carrots, and spinach are often suggested. Hyper-palatable foods may not be as well-known to people, and they may be unsuspecting of including them in their meals.

Hyper-palatable foods are often calorie heavy. This new research suggests that these foods may contribute to calories in meals. This information adds to a larger pool of evidence that indicates that hyper-palatability impacts the food people choose and their weight.

"We hope to get the information about hyper-palatable foods out there for individuals to consider as they make dietary choices, and we hope that scientists continue to examine hyper-palatable characteristics as a potential factor influencing energy intake," she said.

Fazzino co-authored the findings in Nature Food with researchers Kevin Hall, Amber Courville, and Jen Guo of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive.

Below are tips for clients trying to manage calories:

• “Chews” food in its whole form. An apple versus apple sauce or apple juice.

• Include foods containing protein with meals and snacks. Low-fat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, hard-cooked eggs, lean chicken, or fish.

• Add healthy fats for satiety. A drizzle of salad dressing, chopped nuts or seeds in oatmeal, and slices of avocado on whole grain toast.

• Limit ultra-processed foods like chips, commercial crackers, pastries, cookies, and snack cakes.

• Include high-fiber foods with meals and snacks. Use rolled oats in place of instant, brown rice in place of white, and whole wheat bread in place of white bread.

• Add bulk to food, not calories. Toss in spinach, chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms, kale, or other low-calorie veggies into omelets, salads, soup, or leftovers.

Lisa Andrews, MEd, RD, LD

Reference:

1. Tera L. Fazzino, Amber B. Courville, Juen Guo, Kevin D. Hall. Ad libitum meal energy intake is positively influenced by energy density, eating rate and hyper-palatable food across four dietary patterns. Nature Food, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s43016-022-00688-4