Many nutritionists say eating a wide variety of foods is the key to a healthy diet. But a new study suggests that eating the same snacks and meals may be a better path to weight loss and management.<\/p>\n
A team of Drexel University researchers examined<\/a> the effect of “routinized” eating among participants enrolled in a behavioral weight-loss program. Those who stuck to similar foods over 12 weeks saw promising results. Increased dietary repetition was associated with better weight loss \u2014 and so was caloric stability, or eating roughly the same amount of calories each day of the week.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0Wawa recalls lemonade, iced tea and fruit punch sold at Philly-area stores<\/a><\/p>\n The analysis used food diaries from 112 people. Participants logged daily calories and which foods they ate via the Fitbit app and weighed themselves on wireless scales at home.\u00a0Those whose food entries were majority\u00a0repeats saw an average weight loss of\u00a05.9%, while those whose entries were mostly unique foods\u00a0had an average weight loss of 4.3%.\u00a0<\/p>\n The study also zoomed in on foods that appeared more than 10 times in a person’s food log. For every 10% increase in the proportion of these high-frequency foods, participant weight loss increased by 1.6%<\/p>\n The Drexel researchers theorized that habitual, repetitive eating sets dieters up for success by making calorie restriction “less effortful.”<\/p>\n “Limiting dietary\u00a0variety may reduce self-control burden during weight loss attempts,” they wrote. “On a practical level, repeating meals and snacks can make meal\u00a0planning and food tracking, some of the most effective strategies\u00a0for weight loss, more manageable.”<\/p>\n This research relied on a relatively small sample size and had other limitations. Public health experts presume self-reported diet data to be biased since people generally underestimate the calories of their meals. The study also did not assess the nutritional value of the repeated foods, simply tallying any item \u2014 Big Mac or celery stick \u2014 that was logged multiple times.<\/p>\n Still, there is existing evidence supporting the study’s findings. A previous study found that<\/a>\u00a0people ate more when presented with multiple sandwich options instead of a single filling, suggesting that variety stimulates food intake. Other research has concluded<\/a>\u00a0that repeatedly consuming a highly desired food decreases its desirability and appeal, making overeating less likely.<\/p>\n Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
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