Not all calories are equal, says Harvard!

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InTheRightLane
InTheRightLane Posts: 33
in Food and Nutrition
According to a summary article posted in the New York Times, not all calories have the same effect on weight gain and loss.

A huge study was done by 5 researchers at Harvard. The studied the dietary habits of 120,000 people over 20 years to see which foods affected weight gain/loss over time. Their findings were intriguing.

"The average participant gained 3.35 pounds every four years, for a total weight gain of 16.8 pounds in 20 years."

Foods linked to weight gain: french fries, potato chips, sugar sweetened drinks, red meats, potatoes, sweets and desserts, refined grains, other fried foods, 100-percent fruit juice, and butter.

Foods links to weight loss or maintenance: fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.

ALSO surprisingly: yogurt (but not other dairy products) and nuts (including peanut butter) helped with weight loss.

This is pretty fascinating. To read the full NYTimes article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/health/19brody.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&ref=health&src=me

The full article is in the New England Journal of Medicine, for those of you truly interested in the science behind it.

Replies

  • fat2fab4life
    fat2fab4life Posts: 253 Member
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    thanks for posting. i get so sick and tired of hearing "calories in, calories out" when I have not lost a pound working my butt off! This makes more sense if I were to cut back on junks and potatoes, starches, etc, I would have better results. Only think Is, I don't like yogurt. Awesome post
  • jagoochie
    jagoochie Posts: 218 Member
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    its true

    its not about the calories you consume but the quality and nutritioinal content of the food you consume

    you are fueling your body and it is the only one you have
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    Agree 100%. A calorie is not just a calorie. (Although I include ALL grains because even complex carbs get broken down into simple carbs by the body and in turn raise our blood sugar levels - just takes longer to do it). Do some research on the antinutrients in whole grains. (lectin, phytates, etc). I also refrain from fruit because the body sees fruit sugar and table sugar as the same thing and it gets treated the same - fructose/glucose.

    But not everyone agrees with me. That's okay.
  • Keefypoos
    Keefypoos Posts: 231 Member
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    unfortunety there was no control group or portion size control so they introduce an adjustment factor.

    by using an adjustment factor it's possible to prove an Elephant can hang off a cliff using it's trunk to hold on to a daisy

    :-)
  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
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    I guess this seems like common sense to me. If I eat 100 calories of french fries, of COURSE that's not as good as 100 calories of fruits and veggies. There are also good fats and bad fats.
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
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    Thanks for the article. This is really common sense, even though the calorie is touted as equal in all foods, this is definitely not true. Junk food works so much differently on your body then nutritious food. This is a HEALTHY lifestyle we are all striving for, and even though we all eat the junk at times, we should concentrate on the good foods. Great information for all of us to remember!
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    100 calories of sugar will affect your body differently than 100 calories of fat or 100 calories of protein. Our cells are comprised of mainly fats and proteins. Our brain is 70% fat. No one can tell me that a calorie is just a calorie. This is what I have learned from the last 9 months of research.
  • imgonnadoit123
    imgonnadoit123 Posts: 48 Member
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    This is a nice article but geez every other day they either confirm or contradict the same thing. Common sense to me that fatty foods make you gain weight because you eat them and then you're hungry again 5 mins later (taco bell anyone?) Our bodies are very complex machines. Think about it...we can't make a human body with all our technology and so called knowledge we can't even make a worm! These machines are so hitech it's not funny. So basically all we can do is keep it simple...eat less calories and you'll lose weight.
  • alexg94
    alexg94 Posts: 44
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    I still think calories are calories. They didn't even say anything about how many calories they were limited to. The people eating the fries gained weight cause it was high in calories. The fruits and vegetables lost weight because of the little calories it has...
  • RangerSteve
    RangerSteve Posts: 437
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    THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT PROVE ANYTHING. PLEASE READ IT BEFORE COMMENTING OR CHANGING YOUR ENTIRE VIEW ON LIFE.
    "The study participants — nurses, doctors, dentists and veterinarians in the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study — were followed for 12 to 20 years. Every two years, they completed very detailed questionnaires about their eating and other habits and current weight. The fascinating results were published in June in The New England Journal of Medicine."

    ^----Right there, it explains why this study shouldn't be taken literally. It's a retrospective study. In other words, it's asking people to explain their past behavioral habits. People always over-estimate the amount of exercise they do and under-estimate the amount of food they eat. Very rarely will you get an honest answer from people. It's not because they lie, it's because they don't know any better.

    On top of that, there is no strict control group. There is no doctor monitoring a room to make sure that protocols are being followed. There are so many confounding variables (look that term up if you care about epidemiology) that this study makes no sense whatsoever.

    ALSO, there are a ton of other factors that come into play that are acknowledged:
    "As has been suggested by previous smaller studies, how long people slept each night influenced their weight changes. In general, people who slept less than six hours or more than eight hours a night tended to gain the most. Among possible explanations are effects of short nights on satiety hormones, as well as an opportunity to eat more while awake, Dr. Hu said."

    ^
    That alone could be the deciding factor on weight gain. Maybe it so happens that the people who ate the unhealthiest also slept the least. Maybe it's a lifestyle choice and it has nothing to do with the calorie count itself.


    I have to go to the gym so I'm not going to waste any more time on this article. I can't believe it's bashing science when there are doctors involved in the study. Calories in vs calories out is based on the first law of thermodynamics. If they have a problem with that, they should take it up with the scientific community. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS ARTICLE LITERALLY. I'm already reading comments from people who seem to be ready to take it as the next Bible. Zero looking between the lines from some people here. No wonder the HCG diet is so popular.
  • InTheRightLane
    InTheRightLane Posts: 33
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    I still think calories are calories. They didn't even say anything about how many calories they were limited to. The people eating the fries gained weight cause it was high in calories. The fruits and vegetables lost weight because of the little calories it has...

    In the long term however, the study shows that increased consumption of "good foods" and decreased consumption of "bad foods" led to lower overall weight.

    How realistic is it that you will count calories to the T for the rest of your life? If you plan to do that, then fine, eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your calorie limit.

    I know from my experience that it is easier to control/maintain my weight while eating good foods (and not worrying so much about counting calories). I feel fuller after a day of eating nutritious foods as opposed to a day where I ate crappy foods. Also, I do consume fewer calories when I eat better foods because I feel full longer.
  • circusmom
    circusmom Posts: 662 Member
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    unfortunety there was no control group or portion size control so they introduce an adjustment factor.

    by using an adjustment factor it's possible to prove an Elephant can hang off a cliff using it's trunk to hold on to a daisy

    :-)
    hahahahahaha
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
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    I agree that not all calories are equal, but I don't take this study seriously for one of the reasons Steve mentioned: the results are based on questionnaires. Answers people provide about their habits are NOT a good source of information.
  • WowieGarcia
    WowieGarcia Posts: 68
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    ALSO surprisingly: nuts (including peanut butter) helped with weight loss.

    Alleluia! Won't feel so bad about having a tablespoon or two a day.
  • InTheRightLane
    InTheRightLane Posts: 33
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    I agree that not all calories are equal, but I don't take this study seriously for one of the reasons Steve mentioned: the results are based on questionnaires. Answers people provide about their habits are NOT a good source of information.

    I agree with this, however for nutrition studies on human subjects it is the norm. It is not possible to keep humans locked in a lab room for years to control their food intake in absolution. Overall when 120,000+ people provide information about their habits, people overestimating or underestimating in certain areas should cancel out. If you would like to read the original study, it is available in the New England Journal of Medicine.
  • RangerSteve
    RangerSteve Posts: 437
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    I agree that not all calories are equal, but I don't take this study seriously for one of the reasons Steve mentioned: the results are based on questionnaires. Answers people provide about their habits are NOT a good source of information.

    I agree with this, however for nutrition studies on human subjects it is the norm. It is not possible to keep humans locked in a lab room for years to control their food intake in absolution. Overall when 120,000+ people provide information about their habits, people overestimating or underestimating in certain areas should cancel out. If you would like to read the original study, it is available in the New England Journal of Medicine.

    I can't help but come back to this thread. Oh well, 8 minutes until I leave for the gym.

    No, the over-under estimators won't cancel each other out. That's assuming that the standard for people is to give a reasonable answer. That's asking a lot, especially when people tend to put themselves in a positive light when it comes to their health.

    Also, as I mentioned before, the number of confounding variables here is beyond any sort of control. Proper sleep alone is enough to completely bury this study in any scientific community. The fact that those who tend to be more overweight follow the lifestyle patterns of being generally more unhealthy in the first place dis-proves that any one thing is responsible for weight gain. Also, as I mentioned earlier, calories in vs calories out is NOT a diet. It's thermodynamics. This study didn't even touch on that and instead made an accusation that doesn't even make sense.

    I'm going to make a study where I ask all my lazy overweight friends what they eat in the morning. Most of them eat cereal by the way. I will then conclude that cereal leads to weight gain and no one should eat cereal. Nevermind the exercise requirements, sleep patterns, activity levels during work, if they work at all, hormonal issues, family life, social life, and a million other things. No, it has to do with cereal! I will prove it!

    I HATE studies like this. /rant
  • caterpillardreams
    caterpillardreams Posts: 476 Member
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    [quote/]
    I can't help but come back to this thread. Oh well, 8 minutes until I leave for the gym.

    No, the over-under estimators won't cancel each other out. That's assuming that the standard for people is to give a reasonable answer. That's asking a lot, especially when people tend to put themselves in a positive light when it comes to their health.

    Also, as I mentioned before, the number of confounding variables here is beyond any sort of control. Proper sleep alone is enough to completely bury this study in any scientific community. The fact that those who tend to be more overweight follow the lifestyle patterns of being generally more unhealthy in the first place dis-proves that any one thing is responsible for weight gain. Also, as I mentioned earlier, calories in vs calories out is NOT a diet. It's thermodynamics. This study didn't even touch on that and instead made an accusation that doesn't even make sense.

    I'm going to make a study where I ask all my lazy overweight friends what they eat in the morning. Most of them eat cereal by the way. I will then conclude that cereal leads to weight gain and no one should eat cereal. Nevermind the exercise requirements, sleep patterns, activity levels during work, if they work at all, hormonal issues, family life, social life, and a million other things. No, it has to do with cereal! I will prove it!

    I HATE studies like this. /rant
    [/quote]

    I agree with most of what you said. I do believe the article is common sense when it comes to calories, but what is common sense to an indiviual compared to mine? Not everyone is brought up eating healthy or educated on how to eat well. And not all calories are the same.
    You are right about the study not recognizing that there are other major factors that contribute to weight gain or weight loss.
    I do believe that diet is the big one though, at least for the majority of people. there are the very few who can eat anything and not gain an oz, not insinuating that they are healthy just skinny.

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