Fruit bowl

The growing obesity epidemic in the United States has raised questions among many health professionals.  Health providers of all types have been asking themselves how to help their patients become healthier and accomplish a healthier weight.   They should be looking at the research and determining if the overweight diet is that different from thinner people.  Are the patients who are overweight eating more, have a lower metabolism, or is there a difference in the types of foods they consume?  

One of the major nutrition goals in the last decade has been to encourage Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables in both terms of quantity and variety. This is not just an attempt by the USDA to put more vegetables in the homes of Americans and pad the growers’ pockets.  There is a nutritional basis for dietitians to recommend increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption.  Fruit and vegetables contain fiber and tend to be slowly absorbed and digested.  This keeps you feeling fuller for longer and decreases snacking. 

Research to back up increasing your fruit consumption:

1.  Fruit consumption has been tied to decrease obesity rates.  To be honest, it is both fruits and vegetables.  A great study from 2001 randomly placed families into two groups and followed them for a year.  One of the groups was given education and encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables and the other was not.  The children who ate more fruits and vegetables had a lower BMI and obesity rate at the end of the one-year study[1].  
2. Fruit consumption is a better predictor of BMI than vegetables.  Lin performed a regression analysis of adults and children and found that fruit was a better predictor of the risk of obesity when compared to potatoes or vegetables[2].  
3. Lower fruit consumption may be a better predictor of obesity risk in men.  A study from Austrailia found that adherence to dietary targets for fruit and vegetables may be a dietary strategy to overcome overweight among men, but that women were already meeting the targets[3].  I wonder what they define as a vegetable.  In my personal medical practice, I have found that many patients still think potatoes and corn are vegetables.  

Weight Loss Tip: Buy a Fruit Bowl