Eat More, Weigh Less

Seventy-two percent of adult Americans are either overweight or obese.(1) Extra weight carries numerous health risks, including increased risk of heart disease and heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, some forms of cancer and dying prematurely.(2-4)

Decreasing calorie intake is one of the key strategies for losing weight, and typically involves limiting the number of daily calories and decreasing food portions.

What if you didn’t have to count calories or practice portion control. Could you still lose weight? Science suggests you can!  Below is one example, of many, that recommends eating more whole, unprocessed plant foods at every meal (fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains) is the key.

The BROAD study(5)

The BROAD study was a community-based, randomized, controlled trial involving overweight or obese subjects who also had at least one of the following: type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, hypertension or high blood cholesterol.

In this study, standard medical care, the control group, was compared to standard medical care plus a diet change program, the intervention. The focus was on diet rather than increasing exercise in order to isolate the effect of eating a healthy diet on weight loss. 

Intervention participants were taught how to eat a whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet: fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. The education involved 2-hour evening sessions twice-weekly for 12 weeks and included chef-guided cooking tutorials, presentations by doctors, discussions and educational materials. Subjects were instructed to eat as much as they wanted of the WFPB diet until satisfied, no calorie restriction, no calorie counting, no portion control.

Results 

At 3 and 6 months, the WFPB diet intervention group experienced a significantly greater average weight loss and a significantly greater average decrease in BMI than the control group. At 6 months, they also reported significantly greater nutritional self-efficacy and self-esteem compared to the control group.

This study had two especially noteworthy findings:

1. Most weight loss diets are effective at 6 months but some weight is usually regained by 12 months. However, in this study, the WFPB diet group at 12 months maintained the weight lost at 6 months. (The trial was extended to 12 months for the intervention group.)

2. “There are no randomized controlled trials that have achieved a greater average weight loss over a 6- or 12-month period, without mandating regular exercise or restricting total caloric intake.”

Recommendations

If you want a safe, satisfying way to optimize your weight and health, eat more whole, unprocessed plant foods at every meal: fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains.

Our online resources at www.fullplateliving.org provide excellent, free materials if you need help doing that.

If you are under medical supervision for any reason, please check with your doctor before following these recommendations.

References

1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm

2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/can-you-be-overweight-and-still-be-fit

3. https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/obesity-a-to-z

4. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/overweight-obesity-mortality-risk/

5. Wright N, Wilson L, Smith M, Duncan B, McHugh P. The BROAD study: A randomised controlled trial using a whole food plant-based diet in the community for obesity, ischaemic heart disease or diabetes. Nutr Diabetes. 2017;7(3):e256. Published 2017 Mar 20. doi:10.1038/nutd.2017.3