If you have been coming around to this little corner of the internet for any amount of time, you know that I like to back up my recommendations and positions with science. It has long been postulated in the health community that consuming a diet high in ultra processed foods may lead to weight gain.

With greater percentages of us overweight and at risk for chronic conditions caused by said excess weight (i.e. many forms of cancer, heart disease, and Type II diabetes), finding links between our food and our long term health is important. Throw in the nature of our industrialized and value-added (read: processed) food system and these links become even more critical. After all, we eat every single day.

Up until now, most of the data on highly processed foods and their supposed link to weight issues and disease has been correlational. Basically, researchers will ask people what they typically eat (and maybe get some information about relative quantities) and then take a few measurements. Height, weight, blood pressure, but nothing too extensive. Correlational data just means that there appears to be a link between one variable (the food consumed in this case) and another (excess weight and/or presence of a chronic condition).

Correlational data doesn’t prove causation, though. There may be an unseen variable actually at the root of things. That’s why science tests repeatedly. Last month, a study was published that provided a critical next step. The researchers actually controlled the diets of twenty people for about a month. Each person was given standard foods for two weeks and then ultra processed foods for two weeks. The subjects were told to consume as much as they wanted during both “diets.”

The research team found that the subjects consumed about 500 more calories per day when they were eating the ultra processed diet versus when they were consuming a standard, less processed diet. Subjects consumed these calories in the form of carbohydrate and fat. Protein intake remained unchanged over the two diets. This resulted in a two pound weight gain over the course of the study.

This is one of the first studies that may help prove causation. In other words, this may be the first step towards proving that a diet high in ultra processed foods may cause an increase consumption of calories and therefore lead to weight gain. It is important to understand that this was a small subject pool that may not represent the larger population. And the study participants were eating in a lab. But, again, that’s the point of science, to test and re-test.

So, for now, if you are concerned with weight gain and its potential adverse health effects, try to eliminate ultra processed foods from your diet.

Until next time, be well friends!