Latest research released three weeks ago on May 16, 2019, indicates that processed foods make you gain weight. In a controlled study of 20 participants, 10 women and 10 men. One group was given a processed food diet and the other group, a non-processed diet for 14 days. They then switched diets. The participants were instructed to eat as much or as little as they liked. The study was conducted over a 28 day period. Snacks were available all day. The meals were designed to be matched and contained the same caloric value as well as the same macro-nutrient values, sugar, sodium and fibre.
Below is a picture of the foods provided for Day 1 courtesy of The New York Times
You will notice the unprocessed diet is not an organic, or whole food diet and it contains skim milk. Read my article on low vs full-fat products here
The outcome was that the ultra-processed diet group ate an extra 500 calories (mainly fat and carbohydrates) per day which lead to a weight gain of just under a kilo and a BMI increase of 0.4. Conversely, the unprocessed diet group lost just under a kilo and a decrease in BMI of 0.3. This confirms the “always hungry” theory of eating a diet high in processed foods. Eating highly processed foods make you gain weight and also increases your hunger, typically for more processed food which leads to weight gain.
