Eating Patterns and Weight
Rebecca Coelho, MPH, RD, LD

Though there is no one-size fits all solution for weight control, recent studies are beginning to identify eating patterns associated with healthy body weights.

Do You Have Breakfast?
Eating a regular breakfast is a behavioral pattern shared by people who have lost weight and kept it off. In one study, seventy-eight percent of people who maintained the weight they lost ate breakfast every day of the week; only 4 percent never ate breakfast. In another study, breakfast skippers were 4.5 times more likely to be obese than were those who regularly ate breakfast. Breakfast tends to be more satiating and decreases the number of calories we consume in a 24-hour period, unlike late night snacks.

Enjoy Grazing?
There are arguments for both sides. Several studies link snacking to greater body weight. However, how frequently you eat will only have an impact on your weight if it affects your caloric intake. One study found that people who are able to lose at least 30 pounds and keep it off for at least one year succeed despite the fact that they eat just a often as the Average American-nearly five times per day. Unlike the average-American however, they carefully regulate their food intake and exercise about one hour per day. They don’t graze. They eat no more than 5 times each day, minimizing opportunities to use food to meet emotional needs.

How can you use this information? By adding structured times to have a small meal may help you consume less calories. For example, you might have a very long stretch between lunch and dinner due to your work schedule. Planning an additional healthy eating time in the afternoon may leave you less hungry and less likely to overindulge when you finally have an opportunity to eat dinner.

Do You Crave Variety?
Although you may hear you need a wide variety of food to get all the nutrients needed for health, it may not be helpful when it comes to weight control. We love variety, but when we have many foods with a wide range of tastes, smells, colors and textures, we’re inclined to eat more.

Within most food groups (sweets, snacks, condiments, entrees, and carbohydrates), the more variety we eat, the more calories we consume and the higher our percentage of body fat. On the other hand, when we eat a greater variety of vegetables, we tend to consume fewer calories and have less body fat. When we eat a greater variety of fruit and dairy, it seems to have little effect on our body weight.

As we eat, the pleasure we get from one food gradually declines, but a new food with different sensory attributes reawakes our appetites. Meals with many flavors, colors, and textures, enhance our appetites and prolong our eating, while less varied meals help us feel full and cause us to stop eating sooner.

For weight control, strive for an amount of variety that lets you stick to your plan, but not so much that you become overly interested in food. Remember, you will most likely be more successful if you strive for more variety in the lower density food groups (vegetables, fruit and low fat dairy), than the higher calorie food groups.

Give It Some Thought
Controlling weight is a long-term process and requires thoughtful introspection and conscious effort. Try to adopt some of the eating patterns suggested above and see if you can personalize them so they work for you.

 The Importance of Variety

Eating a variety of foods has always been a key to health because of the vast variety of nutrients different foods contain. Variety adds more than just nutrition to your meals as well — variety adds color, flavor, texture, shape and temperature to meals or snacks.

• Vary the color: Think about how foods will look on the plate together. Is everything beige? For color variety, add fresh chives to mashed potatoes or red pepper strips to baby carrots.

• Vary the flavors: Different ingredients and seasonings add layers of flavors. Instead of orange-glazed chicken, cranberry sauce and candied sweet potatoes, complement chicken with brown rice or a crisp spinach salad.

• Vary the texture: Contrast crunchy foods with soft foods. For example, add crunchy raw vegetables to rice.

 Give your body the balanced nutrition it needs by eating a variety of nutrient-packed foods every day. Produced by ADA’s Public Relations Team