Yogurt, Fruits And Veggies Could Prevent Weight Gain

The yogurt section is shown at a Whole Foods Market in San Francisco. (AP)

The yogurt section at a Whole Foods Market in San Francisco. (AP)

We’ve all heard the old adage “everything in moderation” when it comes to weight control.

But a recent study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health calls that theory into question. Researchers found that eating more of certain foods, and less of others could help combat weight gain.

Dr. Dariush Mozzafarian of Harvard School of Public Health told Here & Now‘s Robin Young that “There may be certain types of calories that make us more full and make us eat less.”

Foods most associated with preventing weight gain

Yogurt
Nuts
Fruits
Whole grains
Non-starchy vegetables

Foods most associated with weight gain

Potato chips
Potatoes
Sugary drinks
Unprocessed red meats
Processed meats

Guest:

Dr. Dariush Mozzafarian, Harvard School of Public Health cardiologist and epidemiologist

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

http://twitter.com/Yticilef Susan

When I was a kid, the wisdom was that potatoes, (white) bread and pasta would make you fat. Sugar wasn’t so prevalent in *everything* at that time, but I do remember a neighbour girl who we kids all knew was addicted to potato chips – obese and had bad skin. Contrasted with the rest of us in school – I only remember one other obese kid.
http://twitter.com/Yticilef Susan

So it’s finally come full circle – the women of my mother’s generation were right about potatoes and bread/pasta. “Starches” would make you fat. We were also told that starchy things like crackers would just turn into sugar, which was also fattening. This simple wisdom has been lost in a horrendous, confusing, decades-long barrage of conflicting information about food. White flour was bad for you, potatoes fattening, and so it appears it’s true.�
During the 60s and 70s the visionary people refused to eat white bread, made yogurt, ate very little meat, kept gardens, and read Adele Davis’ books. My mother made yogurt in the oven, in jars, at low temperature — my father had a jar of it every day, and the doctor asked him what he was doing to keep himself so healthy. I rode horses at a naturapath/osteopath’s farm in the 60s that had a Brown Swiss cattle dairy, no pesticides, seaweed fertilizers, clamshells for the chickens to eat, hardening their eggshells – and all this was ignored. Cattle and horses were fed with home-grown salt hay – the farm was self-sufficient. Hopefully, it’s going to return.
Patti

“The whiter your bread, the sooner you’re dead”. I grew up eating potatoes, white bread , cookies and desserts, along with meat and casseroles (we had a family of 7). I now have diabetes and have had to totally revamp what I eat, which is a good thing. But what a pain to always have to think about what you are going to eat – I still have not gotten used to that. I do eat unsweetened yogurt some mornings with some frozen fruit and a little whole grain flax cereal sprinkled on top. I enjoyed this report. THANK YOU!
jim

Good segment. Of interest the following MD has been preaching the same philosophy for 10 + years.
http://www.drannwellness.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=30&category=1
http://www.facebook.com/hcjordan Heather Jordan

duh
http://www.facebook.com/hcjordan Heather Jordan

duh…
Anonymous

careful. presented in the headlines as though accomplsihed fact, but note the qualifiers: “there could be,” “there may be.” As with all ‘scientific’ studies of the medical variety, look up John Iannides (and also the concept you studied in college: regression toward the mean, which hasn’t been repealed).
Steincb

weight alone is not an accurate measure of health, while fruit nuts non starchy vegetables and yourt are great, these alone will not maintain nor create lean body mass. the impact of these foods on bmi would be more informative.
Anonymous

That is good news and something that we should harken to continue to follow. Public health is a patriotic act. During the Great Depression there were a lot of PSA’s regarding staying fit on the homefront to help the war effort. I like that idea that staying healthy is an act for the public good. http://michaelmaczesty.blogspot.com/2011/07/because-toys-and-games-dont-cause-type.html
Adele Rose

I was listening to this program while making the lunch that I’ve had most days since I got out of college (many years ago…I’m now 50)– a fact that my husband always kids me about.

I mash a banana with natural chunky peanut butter, then add a cup of plain, low-fat yogurt, mix in cinnamon, then add fresh apple chunks (Gala in the summer, macs when fresh) and sprinkle with more cinnamon, then mix again. As I made this lunch, Dr. Mozzafarian was talking about how great yogurt is for helping to control weight gain (check), how eating nuts can control hunger and prevent weight gain (check), and mentioned fresh fruit (check). I couldn’t wait to tell my husband! (BTW, since my senior year in high school, when I was my ideal weight, I’ve lost about 3-4 pounds, though my shape is quite different after having two kids.)