– Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
News
– A low-fat vegan diet may help people lose weight without counting calories, shrinking portions, or feeling constantly hungry. In a 16-week clinical trial, people eating mostly fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes consumed about 357 fewer calories per day even though the total amount of food they ate barely changed.
A low-fat vegan diet can reduce the energy density of the foods people eat by about 30%, helping them consume fewer calories while still eating satisfying amounts of food. The approach was also associated with weight loss, even though participants were not instructed to restrict calories, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open.
In a randomized clinical trial involving adults with overweight, participants who followed an ad libitum low-fat vegan diet substantially reduced the number of calories per gram of food they consumed. Researchers found that greater reductions in energy density were tied to lower calorie intake and greater weight loss, despite the absence of any instructions to eat less.
Details
“This helps answer a question people often have about plant-based eating: How can you lose weight without counting calories or going hungry?” said Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and lead author. “The answer is energy density. Plant foods are rich in water and fiber, so you can fill your plate, feel full, and still take in fewer calories.”
How the Low-Fat Vegan Diet Was Tested
The findings come from an analysis of a 16-week randomized trial involving adults with overweight. Participants were assigned either to an ad libitum low-fat vegan diet centered on fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, or to a control group that continued eating as usual without making any dietary changes.
Analysis
Neither group was given a calorie target or told to limit how much they ate. Researchers measured each participant’s dietary energy density by comparing total daily energy intake with the total weight of food consumed, expressed as total energy (kcal per day) divided by total food weight (grams per day).
The study produced several notable findings:
– The total weight of food consumed did not change significantly in either group, meaning those following the vegan diet continued eating about the same amount of food by weight.
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