New study findings confirm what many folks feared: The more UPFs in their diet, the more young adults eat. Leading to overweight. And maybe a lifelong battle with obesity. It’s all about ‘eating without hunger’, and consuming too many calories…
Our poster girl for eating too much illustrates the
ultimate result of ‘eating without hunger’…
Eating without hunger is turning out to be a bigger issue than previously thought. In fact, scientists now say it could be a major contributor to the long-known, little understood phenomenon of ram-pant obesity in sub-adult populations…
Researchers at Virginia Tech wanted to see how eating patterns high in ultra-processed foods affect young adults aged 18 to 25. The results of their study were ‘more than they bargained for’ in more ways than one…
What they did
According to an abstract of the study report, the team compared two types of diets, one that was rich in ultra-processed foods and another that contained no ultra-processed foods at all. After two weeks on each diet, they tested whether participants would eat differently when faced with an all-you-can-eat meal.
“We very rigorously designed these diets to be matched on 22 characteristics, including macronut-rients, fiber, added sugar, energy density, and also many vitamins and minerals,” Brenda Davy, senior author on the paper and Professor in Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, said.
But after each 2-week period on the special diets, participants were, “invited to eat freely from a breakfast buffet that included both ultra-processed and non-ultra-processed options,” the abstract relates. They arrived after having fasted, “and received a tray with about 1,800 calories of food — four times the calorie content of a standard American breakfast. They had 30 minutes to eat as much or as little as they wanted.”
What they found
Across the full group of participants, the type of diet they followed did not change the total calories or total grams of food eaten at the buffet. The proportion of ultra-processed foods selected also re-mained similar. These results did not differ by sex or by body mass index (BMI), which is a standard measure of body fat.
The age breakdown, however, revealed an important difference. The 18- to 21-year-olds, but not the 22- to 25-year-olds, consumed more calories after the period on the ultra-processed diet. The young-er participants were also more likely to continue eating when they were no longer hungry.
The takeaway
“Our [younger] participants […] consumed more in the buffet meal after the ultra-processed diet. Then, given the opportunity to snack when not hungry, they ate more yet again,” said study co-author Alex DiFeliceantonio, an Assistant Professor with Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “Snacking when not hungry is an important predictor of later weight gain in young people, and it seems ultra-processed food exposure increases this tendency in adolescents.”
My take
Makes sense to me. I generally eat more, even when I’m no longer particularly hungry, when I’ve just revved up my system on a feed including a high proportion of UPFs. If memory serves me correctly, I was even more likely to overeat as a child and young adult. My theory is, our bodies respond enthus-iastically – without our conscious realization – to our in-bred cravings for salt, fat and sugar.
My saving grace, when I was aged 15 to 24, was long bike rides to wherever I wanted to / had to go. And later, I walked kilometres every day up, down and sideways across the campus at university. After that, I clocked even more klics as a roving reporter, running around all over town, chasing stories…
But, like many folks, I did start gaining weight when I hit the age of 50. And continued to bloat until I began to experience the health issues that force me to suspend this blog for a few weeks last fall. A renewed focus on my health – and strong motivation to get back into my size 10-12 wardrobe – have guided me on my journey back to ‘normal’…
~ Maggie J.