Meat is as much to blame for excess weight as sugar
Sensational research that analysed data from 170 countries resulted in an important finding in two papers. After adjusting for factors such as people’s activity levels, income, lifestyle and calorie consumption, meat intake was directly and significantly linked to excess weight. In fact, meat turned out to be as bad as sugar and these two food groups together explain almost all the variation in people’s body weights.
Flavonoids are bioactive compounds that naturally occur in fruits and vegetables. Previous research suggested there was a link between the intake of specific fruits and vegetables and maintaining a healthy weight. As a part of an enormous study involving over 120,000 healthy American men and women, their diets and weight were followed for up to 24 years.
An epic, 24-year study of over 130,000 people focused on fruit and vegetable intake (including pulses) and body weight. The results showed that increased fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with good, long-term weight management. The benefits were specifically greater for fruits compared to vegetables and strongest for berries, apples and pears, tofu and soya products, cauliflower, cruciferous and green leafy vegetables.
