Short answer
Yes. Even when calories and nutrient makeup were matched, people ate 813.5 kcal more a day on a processed diet, and in an 8-week trial they lost only about half as much weight. Within processed foods, the faster a food was eaten and the denser its calories, the more people ate.
Do processed foods make you eat more?
'Processed food → less full → eat more': is it true?
Many say processed foods like snacks, ham, and cereal make you eat more without noticing. But processed foods usually also carry more sugar and fat, so it is hard to tell what causes it. We checked trials that matched nutrient makeup and let people eat as much as they wanted.
Even with matched nutrients, they ate more
5 kcal more a day in a processed-food week
9 people in a hospital ate a processed diet and an unprocessed diet for 1 week each, as much as they wanted. The calories served and the carbohydrate, fat, and protein ratios were the same. They ate 813.5 kcal more a day on the processed diet and gained 1.1 kg more. They chewed fewer times per calorie.
Over 8 weeks, the gap remained
Even following healthy eating guidelines, less weight came off
55 people ate a processed diet and a minimally processed diet, both built to the UK healthy eating guidelines, for 8 weeks each, as much as they wanted. Weight fell on both, by 2.06% on the minimally processed diet and 1.05% on the processed diet. Self-recorded intake was 327.3 kcal a day lower on the minimally processed diet.
Why do people eat more?
The faster it is eaten and the denser the calories, the more they ate
69 people ate sandwiches made of 67-98% processed ingredients, as much as they wanted. With a calorie-dense sandwich that is eaten fast, they ate 1,143 kcal. With a less calorie-dense sandwich that is eaten slowly, they ate 573 kcal (50%) less. Even within processed foods, eating speed and calorie density decided the amount.
What about high-protein processed food?
They ate less, but still ate a lot
21 people ate two processed diets for 54 hours each in a room that measures calories burned, as much as they wanted. The 30% protein diet led to eating 196 kcal less and burning 128 kcal more a day than the 13% protein diet. Still, on both diets they ate more than they needed (18% over on the 30% protein diet, 32% over on the 13% protein diet).
Summary: processed food made people eat more
Even within processed foods, faster and denser meant more eaten
Even with matched nutrients, people ate more on processed diets, and over 8 weeks they lost only about half as much weight. Within processed foods too, the faster it was eaten and the denser the calories, the more people ate. When dieting, building meals around less processed foods that take chewing and have plenty of protein works.
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