Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-05T09:12:59.024Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dietary strategies for the prevention of obesity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2007

Susan A. Jebb
Susan A. Jebb*
Affiliation:
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge, CB1 9NL, UK
*
Corresponding author: Dr Susan Jebb, fax +44 1223 437515, email susan.jebb@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The rising tide of obesity has led to a resurgence of interest in dietary strategies to prevent excess weight gain. Data from controlled intervention studies is sparse, but nonetheless evidence from other diverse sources has identified a number of specific dietary factors and aspects of eating behaviour that either promote or protect against obesity. The present paper reviews the evidence in relation to energy density, the macronutrient composition of the diet, including the nature of carbohydrate foods and sugar-rich drinks, portion size and snacking habits. It concludes that there is now sufficient evidence to develop clear dietary guidelines to prevent weight gain that are largely consistent with those for the prevention of CVD and cancer. However, coordinated action across multiple stakeholders is also required if these guidelines are to be translated into sustained changes in eating habits.

Keywords

ObesityDietEnergy densitySoft drinksPortion size
Type
Plenary Lecture
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 64 , Issue 2 , May 2005 , pp. 217 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

References

Anderson, JW, Randles, KM, Kendall, CW & Jenkins, DJ (2004) Carbohydrate and fibre recommendations for individuals with diabetes: a quantitative assessment and meta-analysis of the evidence. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 23, 5–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Astrup, A, Grunwald, GK, Melanson, EL, Saris, WH & Hill, JO (2000) The role of low-fat diets in body weight control: a meta-analysis of ad libitum dietary intervention studies. International Journal of Obesity 24, 1545–1552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Astrup, A, Larsen, TM & Harper, A (2004) Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets: hoax or an effective tool for weight loss. Lancet 364, 897–899.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barr, S (2003) Increased dairy product or calcium intake: Is body weight or composition affected in humans. Journal of Nutrition 133, 245S–248S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellisle, F, McDevitt, R & Prentice, AM (1997) Meal frequency and energy balance. British Journal of Nutrition 77, S57–S70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birch, LL (1999) Development of food preferences. Annual Review of Nutrition 19, 41–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Black, AE, Goldberg, GR, Jebb, SA, Livingstone, MBE & Prentice, AM (1991) Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principles of energy physiology. 2. Evaluating the results of dietary surveys. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 583–599.Google Scholar
Bouche, C, Rizkalla, SW, Luo, J, Vidal, H, Veronese, A, Pacher, N, Fouquet, C, Lang, V & Slama, G (2002) Five-week, low-glycemic index diet decreases total fat mass and improves plasma lipid profile in moderately overweight non-diabetic men. Diabetes Care 25, 822–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brand-Miller, J, Holt, SHA, Pawlak, DB & McMillan, J (2002) Glycemic index and obesity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76 281S – 285SCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bray, GA, Nielsen, SJ & Popkin, BM (2004) Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 79, 537–543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bray, GA & Popkin, BA (1998) Dietary fat intake does affect obesity!. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 68, 1157–1173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, KH, Sanchez-Grinan, M, Perez, F, Peerson, JM, Ganoza, L & Stern, JS (1995) Effects of dietary energy density and feeding frequency on total daily energy intakes of recovering malnourished children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62, 13–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butler, D (2004) Slim pickings. Nature 428, 252–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, K & Crawford, D (2001) Family food environments as determinants of preschool-aged children's eating behaviours: implications for obesity prevention policy. A review. Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics 58, 19–25.Google Scholar
Dansinger, ML, Gleason, JA, Griffith, JL, Selker, HP & Schaefer, EJ (2005) Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction. Journal of the American Medical Association 293, 43–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of HealthDepartment of Health (2004) Choosing health: making choices easier. http://www.whig.org.uk/groups/doh/choosing-health-wp/Google Scholar
Diliberti, N, Bordi, PL, Conklin, MT, Roe, LS & Rolls, BJ (2004) Increased portion size leads to increased energy intake in a restaurant meal. Obesity Research 12, 562–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DiMeglio, DP & Mattes, RD (2000) Liquid verses solid carbohydrate: effects on food intake and body weight. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 24, 794–800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebbeling, CB, Sinclair, KB, Pereira, MA, Garcia-Lago, E, Feldman, HA & Ludwig, DS (2004) Compensation for energy intake from fast food among overweight and lean adolescents. Journal of the American Medical Association 291, 2828–2833.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ello-Martin, JA (2004) A diet reduced in energy density results in greater weight loss than a diet reduced in fat Obesity Research, 12SGoogle Scholar
Farshchi, HR, Taylor, MA & Macdonald, IA (2005) Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81, 16–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foster, GD, Wyatt, HR, Hill, JO, McGuckin, BG, Brill, C, Mohammed, S, Szapary, PO, Rader, DJ, Edman, JS & Klein, S (2003) A randomized trial of a low-carbohydrate diet for obesity. New England Journal of Medicine 348, 2082–2090.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francis, LA, Lee, Y & Birch, LL (2003) Parental weight status and girls' television viewing, snacking and body mass indexes. Obesity Research 11, 143–151.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
French, SA, Hannan, PJ & Story, M (2004) School soft drink intervention study. British Medical Journal 14, E7315–E7466.Google Scholar
Goldberg, GR, Black, AE, Jebb, SA, Cole, TJ, Murgatroyd, PR, Coward, WA & Prentice, AM (1991) Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principles of energy physiology. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 569–581.Google ScholarPubMed
Gregory, J & & Low, S (2000) National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Young People Aged 4–18. Years. Vol. 1: Report of the Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: H. M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Gunther, CW, Legowski, PA, Lyle, RM, McCabe, GP, Eagan, MS, Peacock, M & Teegarden, D (2005) Dairy products do not lead to alterations in body weight or fat mass in young women in a 1-y intervention. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81, 751–756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, BC (2001) Causes of Obesity and Consequences of Obesity Prevention in Non-Human Primates and Other Animal Models, Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons LtdCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, RBS (2005) Dairy protein, calcium and body weight – the need for a mechanism. International Journal of Obesity 29, 388–390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
He, K, Hu, FB, Colditz, GA, Manson, JE, Willett, WC & Liu, S (2004) Changes in intake of fruits and vegetables in relation to risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women. International Journal of Obesity 28, 1569–1574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heaney, RP, Davies, M, Barger-Lux, J (2002) Calcium and weight: Clinical studies. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 21, 152S–155S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henderson, L, Gregory, J, Irving, K & Swan, G (2002) The National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Adults Aged 19 to 64 Years. Energy, Protein, Carbohydrate, Fat and Alcohol Intake, London: H. M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Hill, JO & Prentice, AM (1995) Sugar and body weight regulation. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62, Suppl., 264S–274S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
House, of, Commons, Health & Select, Committee (2004) Obesity. Vol. 1: Report Together with Formal Minutes. Third Report of Session 2003–4. London: The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Howarth, NC, Saltzman, E & Roberts, SB (2001) Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutrition Reviews 59, 129–139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
James, J, Thomas, P, Cavan, D & Kerr, D (2004) Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks: cluster randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal 328, 1237CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koh-Banerjee, P, Franz, M, Sampson, L, Liu, S, Jacobs, DR, Spiegelman, D, Willett, W & Rimm, E (2004) Changes in whole-grain, bran and cereal fiber consumption in relation to 8-y weight gain among men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 80, 1237–1245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, S, Willett, WC, Manson, JE, Hu, FB, Rosner, B & Colditz, GA (2003) Relation between changes in intakes of dietary fiber and grain products and changes in weight and development of obesity among middle-aged women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 78, 920–927.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Livingstone, MBE & Black, AE (2003) Markers of the validity of reported energy intake. Journal of Nutrition 133 895S – 920SCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ludwig, DS, Peterson, KE & Gortmaker, SL (2001) Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity. A prospective, observational analysis. Lancet 357, 505–508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mattes, RD & Rothacker, D (2001) Beverage viscosity is inversely related to postprandial hunger in humans. Physiology and Behaviour 74, 551–557.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mrdjenovic, G & Levitsky, DA (2003) Nutritional and energetic consequences of sweetened drink consumption in 6- to 13-year-old children. Journal of Pediatrics 142, 604–610.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Audit Office (2001) Tackling Obesity in England, pp. 1–66 London: National Audit Office.Google Scholar
Nielsen, SJ & Popkin, BM (2003) Patterns and trends in food portion sizes 1977–1998. Journal of the American Medical Association 289, 450–453.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oken, G & Gillman, MW (2003) Fetal origins of obesity. Obesity Research 11, 496–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pawlak, DB, Kushner, JA & Ludwig, DS (2004) Effects of dietary glycaemic index on adiposity, glucose homoeostasis, and plasma lipids in animals. Lancet 364, 778–785.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pereira, MA, Kartashov, AI, Ebbeling, CB, Van Horn, L, Slattery, ML, Jacobs, DR & Ludwig, DS (2005) Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance (the CARDIA study): 15-year prospective analysis. Lancet 365, 36–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phillips, SM, Bandini, LG, Naumova, EN, Cyr, H, Colclough, S, Dietz, WH & Must, A (2004) Energy-dense snack food intake in adolescence: Longitudinal relationship to weight and fatness. Obesity Research 12, 461–472.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poppitt, S & Prentice, AM (1996) Energy density and its role in the control of food intake: Evidence from metabolic and community studies. Appetite 26, 153–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poppitt, SD, McCormack, D & Buffenstein, R (1998) Short-term effects of macronutrient preloads on appetite and energy intake in lean women. Physiology and Behaviour 64, 279–285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prentice, AM (1995) Are all calories equal Weight Control: The Current Perspective, 8–13 [Cottrell, R, editors]. London: Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
Prentice, AM (1997) Obesity – the inevitable penalty of civilisation. British Medical Bulletin 53, 229–237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prentice, AM & Jebb, SA (2003) Fast foods, energy density and obesity – A possible mechanistic link. Obesity Reviews 4, 187–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prentice, AM & Jebb, SA (2004) Energy intake/physical activity interactions in the homeostasis of body weight regulation. Nutrition Reviews 62, S98–S104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raben, A (2002) Should obese patients be counselled to follow a low-glycaemic index diet? No. Obesity Reviews 3, 245–256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raben, A, Vasilaras, TH, Moller, AC & Astrup, A (2002) Sucrose compared with artificial sweeteners: different effects on ad libitum food intake and body weight after 10 weeks of supplementation in overweight subjects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76, 721–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reidpath, DD, Burns, C, Garrard, J, Mahoney, M & Townsend, M (2002) An ecological study of the relationship between social and environmental determinants of obesity. Health and Place 8, 141–145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rennie, K & Jebb, SA (2004) Sedentary lifestyles are associated with being overweight and consumption of savoury snacks in young people (4–18 years) Proceedings of the Nutrition SocietyGoogle Scholar
Rennie, KL, Coward, WA, Wright, A & Jebb, SA (2004) Estimating under-reporting of energy intake in a UK national survey. Obesity Research 12 (A) 219.Google Scholar
Rennie, KL, Jebb, SA, Wright, A & Coward, WA (2005) Secular trends in under-reporting of energy intake in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of young people. British Journal of Nutrition 93, 241–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, BJ (2003) The supersizing of America. Nutrition Today 38, 42–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, BJ, Ello-Martin, JA, Carlton-Tohill, B (2004) What can intervention studies tell us about the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and weight management. Nutrition Reviews 62, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, BJ, Engell, D & Birch, LL (2000) Serving portion size influences 5-year-old but not 3-year-old children's food intakes. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 100, 232–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rolls, BJ, Morris, EL & Roe, LS (2002) Portion size of food affects energy intake in normal-weight and overweight men and women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76, 1207–1213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rothwell, N & Stock, M (1979) A role for brown adipose tissue in diet-induced thermogenesis. Nature 281, 31–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rothwell, NJ, Saville, ME & Stock, MJ (1982) Effects of feeding a cafeteria diet on energy balance and diet-induced thermogenesis in four strains of rat. Journal of Nutrition 112, 1515–1524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulze, MB, Manson, JE, Ludwig, DS, Colditz, GA, Stampfer, MJ, Willett, WC & Hu, FB (2004) Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. Journal of the American Medical Association 292, 927–934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, MW, Woods, SC, Porte, D, Seeley, RJ & Baskin, DG (2000) Central nervous system control of food intake. Nature 404, 661–671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shi, H, DiRenzo, D & Zemel, MB (2001) Effects of dietary calcium on adipocyte lipid metabolism and body weight regulation in energy-restricted aP2-agouti transgenic mice. FASEB Journal 15 (A) 598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shi, H, Norman, AW, Okamura, WH, Sen, A & Zemel, MB (2002) 1 alpha-25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibits uncoupling protein 2 expression in human adipocytes. FASEB Journal 16, 1808–1810.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simpson, SJ & Raubenheimer, D (2005) Obesity: The protein leverage hypothesis Obesity Reviews.Google Scholar
Singh, RB, Dubnov, G, Niaz, MA, Ghosh, S, Singh, R, Rastogi, SS, Manor, O, Pella, D & Berry, EM (2002) Effect of an Indo-Mediterranean diet on progression of coronary artery disease in high risk patients (Indo-Mediterranean Diet Heart Study, a randomised single-blind trial). Lancet 360, 1455–1461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skov, AR, Toubro, S, Ronn, B, Holm, L & Astrup, A (1999) Randomised trial on protein vs carbohydrate in ad libitum fat reduced diet for the treatment of obesity. International Journal of Obesity 23, 528–536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stern, L, Nayyar, I, Seshadri, P, Chicano, KL, Daily, DA, McCrory, J, Williams, M, Gracely, EJ & Samaha, FF (2004) The effects of low-carbohydrate versus conventional weight loss diets in severely obese adults: one-year follow-up of a randomised trial. Annals of Internal Medicine 140, 778–785.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stubbs, RJ, Harbron, CJ, Murgatroyd, PR & Prentice, AM (1995) Covert manipulation of dietary fat and energy density: effect on substrate flux and food intake in men eating ad libitum. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62, 316–329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stubbs, RJ, Harbron, CG & Prentice, AM (1996) Covert manipulation of the dietary fat to carbohydrate ratio of isoenergetically dense diets: effect on food intake in feeding men ad libitum. International Journal of Obesity 20, 651–660.Google ScholarPubMed
Swinburn, BA, Caterson, I, Seidell, JC & James, WP (2004) Diet, nutrition and the prevention of excess weight gain and obesity. Public Health Nutrition 7, 123–146.Google ScholarPubMed
Tordoff, MG & Alleva, AM (1990) Effect of drinking soda sweetened with aspartame or high fructose corn syrup on food intake and body weight. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51, 963–969.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van de, WPHG & Westerterp, KR (1991) Influence of feeding frequency on nutrient utilisation in man: consequences for energy metabolism. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 161–169.Google Scholar
Van de, WPHG, Westerterp, KR & Kester, ADM (1993) Effect of the pattern of food intake on human energy metabolism. British Journal of Nutrition 70, 103–115.Google Scholar
Von Kries, R, Koletzko, B, Sauerwald, T, von Mutius, E, Barnert, D, Grunert, V, Von Voss, H (1999) Breast feeding and obesity: cross sectional study. British Medical Journal 319, 147–150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization (2003) Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. WHO Technical Report Series no. 916. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Willett, WC (1998) Is dietary fat a major determinant of body fat. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67, Suppl., 556S–562S.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zemel, MB, Shi, H, Greer, B, Direnzo, D & Zemel, PC (2000) Regulation of adiposity by dietary calcium. FASEB Journal 14, 1132–1138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zemel, MB, Thompson, W, Milstead, A, Morris, K & Campbell, P (2004) Calcium and dairy acceleration of weight and fat loss during energy restriction in obese adults. Obesity Research 12, 582–590.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zizza, C, Siega-Riz, AM & Popkin, BM (2001) Significant increase in young adults' snacking between 1977–1978 and 1994–1996 represents a cause for concern!. Preventative Medicine 32, 303–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed