Losing weight may be as simple as eating more -- eating more fruits and vegetables and less food that is "calorie-dense," such as cheese, researchers said last week.
Dieters who were told to eat foods that fill you up with water and fiber, such as vegetables and fruits, lost weight without counting calories and without gimmicks, a team at Pennsylvania State University found.
A second study looking at what people normally eat found that those who eat more fruits and vegetables tend to weigh less. Both studies were presented this week at a meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity in Las Vegas.
In one of the studies, researchers looked at the eating patterns of 7,500 men and women who constituted a representative sample of American adults. In the other study, 101 obese women were counseled to increase their intake of water-rich foods and to select reduced-fat foods rather than full-fat ones. In both cases, eating more low-energy-dense, water-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, was associated with lower body weight.
These are the first large studies to demonstrate scientifically what common sense dictates -- fill up on less-fattening foods and lose weight. Several recent studies have shown that while diets, such as high-protein regimens, can help weight loss, the effects are short-term.
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