Hostname: page-component-cc8bf7c57-j4qg9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-11T22:57:14.431Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Role of dietary carbohydrate and frequent eating in body-weight control

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

T. R. Kirk
T. R. Kirk
Affiliation:
Centre for Nutrition and Food Research, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh EH12 8TS, 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.

Despite widespread interest in body-weight control, the prevalence of obesity continues to rise worldwide. Current public health advice for obesity prevention is clearly failing. The present paper examines the appropriateness of current public health advice for body-weight control, i.e. to reduce consumption of fatty foods, to reduce consumption of sugar and to avoid snacking between meals. An increase in carbohydrate : fat ratio should improve body-weight control, as high-carbohydrate low-fat diets are less likely to lead to overeating, and if overeating does occur, less of the excess energy is likely to be stored as fat. However, it is suggested that for the long-term prevention of weight gain, advice to increase consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods may be more effective than advice which focuses on reducing consumption of fatty food. Moreover, in view of the inverse relationship between fat and sugar intakes, sugar may have a positive role to play in body-weight control in facilitating an increase in carbohydrate : fat ratio. Snacking for most individuals appears not to adversely affect body-weight control, and for some it may improve control. This situation may exist because frequent eating helps appetite control, thus preventing overeating at meals, and as snacks overall tend to be higher in carbohydrate and lower in fat than meals, frequent eating may be a strategy for increasing carbohydrate : fat ratio. It is also suggested that eating ‘little and often’ may be a more compatible pattern of eating for a physically-active lifestyle than eating large meals. Perhaps the most appropriate advice on food intake that would work synergistically with concurrent advice to increase physical activity is to eat more carbohydrate, and to eat frequently.

Keywords

Body-weight controlMacronutrientsEating frequency
Type
2nd Plenary Session on ‘Body-weight balance and regulation’
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 59 , Issue 3 , August 2000 , pp. 349 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

References

Acheson, KJ, Schutz, Y, Bessard, T, Anantharaman, K, Flatt, JP & Jequier, E (1988) Glycogen storage capacity and de novo lipogenesis during massive carbohydrate overfeeding in man. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, 240–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Apfelbaum, AS, Reinberg, A, Assan, R & Lacatis, D (1972) Hormonal and metabolic circadian rhythms before and during a low-protein diet. Israel Journal of Medical Science 8, 867–873.Google Scholar
Astrup, A, Buemann, B, Toubro, S & Raben, A (1996) Defects in substrate oxidation involved in the predisposition to obesity. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 55, 817–828.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Astrup, A, Raben, A, Buemann, B & Toubro, S (1997) Fat metabolism in the predisposition to obesity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 827, 417–430.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Astrup, A, Ryan, L, Grundwald, G, Storgaard, M, Saris, W, Melanson, E & Hill, WO (2000) The role of dietary fat in body fatness: evidence from a preliminary meta-analysis of ad libitum low-fat dietary intervention studies. British Journal of Nutrition (In the Press).Google ScholarPubMed
Baecke, JA, van Staveren, WA & Burema, J (1983) Food consumption, habitual physical activity, and body fatness in young Dutch adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 37, 278–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Basdevant, A, Craplet, C & Gut-Grand, B (1993) Snacking patterns in obese French women. Appetite 21, 17–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beaudoin, R & Mayer, J (1953) Food intake of obese and non-obese women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 29, 29–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bell, EA, Castellanos, VH, Pelkman, CL, Thorwart, ML & Rolls, BJ (1998) Energy density of foods affects energy intake in normal-weight women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67, 412–420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellisle, F, McDevitt, R & Prentice, AM (1997) Meal frequency and energy balance. British Journal of Nutrition 77, S57–S70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellisle, F, Rolland-Cachera, MF, Deheeger, M & Guilloud-Bataille, M (1988) Obesity and food intake in children: evidence for a role of metabolic and/or behavioral daily rhythms. Appetite 11, 111–118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Black, AE, Prentice, AM, Goldberg, GR, Jebb, SA, Bingham, SA, Livingstone, MBE & Coward, WA (1993) Measurements of total energy expenditure provide insights into the validity of dietary measurements of energy intake. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 93, 572–578.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blass, EM (1991) Suckling: Opiod and non-opiod processes in mother infant bonding. In Chemical Senses. Vol. 4, Appetite and Nutrition, pp. 283–302 [MI, MG, Tordoff, Friedman and Kare, MR, editors]. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.Google Scholar
Bolton-Smith, C & Woodward, M (1994) Dietary composition and fat to sugar ratios in relation to obesity. International Journal of Obesity 18, 820–828.Google ScholarPubMed
Booth, DA (1988) Mechanisms from models – actual effects from real life: The zero-calorie drink-break option. Appetite 11, 94–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burley, VJ, Cotton, JR, Weststrate, JA & Blundell, JE (1993) Effect on appetite of replacing natural fat with sucrose polyester in meals or snacks across one whole day. In Obesity in Europe, pp. 213–219 [Ditschuneit, H, Gries, FA, Hauner, H, Schusdziarra, V and Wechsler, JG, editors]. London: John Libbey & Co.Google Scholar
Butterworth, DE, Nieman, DC, Butler, JV & Herring, JL (1994) Food intake patterns of marathon runners. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 4, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Charzewska, J, Kulesza, W, Brzezinska, J & Chwojnowska, Z (1981) Relationship between obesity or overweight development and the frequency of meals, their distribution during the day and consumption of atherogenic food products. Zywienie Czlowieka 8, 217–227.Google Scholar
Crawley, H & Summerbell, CD (1997) Feeding frequency and BMI among teenagers aged 16–17 years. International Journal of Obesity 21, 159–161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crombie, N & Kirk, TR (1999) Prevention of weight gain and blood cholesterol reduction after consumption of a high carbohydrate food in men. International Journal of Obesity 23, Suppl. 5, 657.Google Scholar
Dreon, DM, Frey-Hewitt, B, Ellsworth, N, Williams, PT, Terry, RB & Wood, PD (1988) Dietary fat: carbohydrate ratio and obesity in middle-aged men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 47, 995–1000.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drummond, S, Crombie, NE, Cursiter, MC & Kirk, TR (1998) Evidence that eating frequency is inversely related to body weight status in male, but not female, non-obese adults reporting valid dietary intakes. International Journal of Obesity 22, 105–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drummond, S, Crombie, NE & Kirk, TR (1996) A critique of the effects of snacking on weight status. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 779–783.Google ScholarPubMed
Drummond, S & Kirk, TR (1999) Assessment of advice to reduce dietary fat and non-milk extrinsic sugar in adult males in a free-living population. Public Health Nutrition 2, 187–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckel, RH & Yost, TJ (1987) Weight reduction increases adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase responsiveness in obese women. Journal of Clinical Investigation 80, 992–997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edelstein, SL, Barrett-Connor, EL, Wingard, DL & Cohn, BA (1992) Increased meal frequency associated with decreased cholesterol concentrations; Rancho Bernardo, CA, 1984–1987. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 55, 664–669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fábry, P, Fodor, J, Hejl, Z, Braun, T & Zvolankova, K (1964) The frequency of meals. Its relation to overweight, hypercholesterolaemia, and decreased glucose-tolerance. Lancet ii, 614–615.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flatt, JP (1978) The biochemistry of energy expenditure. In Recent Advances in Obesity Research, Vol. 2, pp. 211–228 [Bray, GD, editor]. London: Newman Publishing.Google Scholar
Fricker, J, Giroux, S, Fumeron, F & Apfelbaum, M (1990) Circadian rhythm of energy intake and corpulence status in adults. International Journal of Obesity 14, 387–393.Google ScholarPubMed
Friedman, MI (1991) Metabolic control of caloric intake. In Chemical Senses. Vol. 4, Appetite and Nutrition, pp. 19–38 [Friedman, MI, Tordoff, MG and Kare, MR, editors]. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.Google Scholar
Geiselman, PJ & Norm, D (1982) Sugar infusion can enhance feeding. Science 218, 490–491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibney, MJ (1990) Dietary guidelines: a critical appraisal. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 6, 13–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, GG, Black, AE, Jebb, SA, Cole, PR, Murgatroyd, PR, Coward, WA & Prentice, AM (1991) Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principles of energy physiology: 1, derivation of cut-off limits to identify under-recording. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 569–581.Google ScholarPubMed
Heitmann, BL & Lissner, L (1995) Dietary underreporting by obese individuals––is it specific or non-specific? British Medical Journal 311, 986–989.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heitmann, BL, Lissner, L, Srensen, TI & Bengtsson, C (1995) Dietary fat intake and weight gain in women genetically predisposed for obesity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61, 1213–1217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hellerstein, MK (1999) De novo lipogenesis in humans: metabolic and regulatory aspects. Europeam Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, Suppl. 1, 553–565.Google ScholarPubMed
Hochbaum, GM (1981) Strategies and their rationale for changing people's eating habits. Journal of Nutrition Education 13, Suppl. 1, S59–S65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horton, TJ, Drougas, H, Brachey, A, Reed, GW, Peters, JC & Hill, JO (1995) Fat and carbohydrate overfeeding in humans: different effects on energy storage. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62, 19–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
James, WPT (1995) Public health approach to the problem of obesity. International Journal of Obesity 19, S37–S45.Google Scholar
Jeffery, RW, Hellerstedt, WL, French, SA & Baxter, JE (1995) A randomized trial of counseling for fat restriction versus calorie restriction in the treatment of obesity. International Journal of Obesity 19, 132–137.Google ScholarPubMed
Kant, AK, Schatzkin, A, Graubard, BI & Ballard, Barbash R (1995) Frequency of eating occasions and weight change in the NHANES I Epidemiological Follow-up Study. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 9, 468–474.Google Scholar
Kirk, TR, Burkill, S & Cursiter, MC (1997) Dietary fat reduction achieved by increasing consumption of a starchy food – an intervention study. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51, 455–461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirk, TR & Cursiter, MC (1999) Long-term snacking intervention did not lead to weight gain in free-living man. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition 2, Suppl. 34, 3–17.Google Scholar
Kirsch, KA & von, Ameln H (1998) Feeding patterns of endurance athletes. European Journal of Applied Physiology 47, 197–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lichtman, SW, Pisarka, K, Berman, ER, Pestone, M, Dowling, H, Offenbacher, E, Weisel, H, Heshka, S & Matthews, DE (1992) Discrepancy between self-reported and actual caloric increase and exercise in obese subjects. New England Journal of Medicine 327, 1393–1398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindeman, AK (1990) Eating and training habits of triathletes: A balancing act. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 90, 993–995.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lissner, L, Heitmann, BL & Bengtsson, C (1997) Low-fat diets may prevent weight gain in sedentary women: prospective observations from the population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden. Obesity Research 5, 43–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Livingstone, MBE, Prentice, AM, Strain, JJ, Coward, WA, Black, AE, Barker, ME, McKenna, PG & Whitehead, RG (1990) Accuracy of weighed dietary records in studies of diet and health. British Medical Journal 300, 708–712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lyon, XH, Di, Vetta V, Milon, H, Jequier, E & Schutz, Y (1995) Compliance to dietary advice directed towards increasing the carbohydrate to fat ratio of the everyday diet. International Journal of Obesity 19, 260–269.Google ScholarPubMed
Machinot, S, Mimouni, M & Lestradet, H (1975) L'alimentation spontanée de l'enfant obese au moment de la premiere consultation (Spontaneous diet of the obese child at the time of first consultation). Cahiers de Nutrition et de Dietetique 1, 45–46.Google Scholar
Mayer, J (1955) Regulation of energy intake and the body weight. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 63, 15–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mela, DJ (1994) The intake and acceptance of fat in the diet. Nutrition and Food Science 3, 19–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Metzner, HL, Lamphiear, DE, Wheeler, NC & Larkin, FA (1977) The relationship between frequency of eating and adiposity in adult men and women in the Tecumseh Community Health Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 30, 712–715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naismith, DJ & Rhodes, C (1995) Adjustment in energy intake following covert removal of sugar from the diet. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 8, 167–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neilson, J & Larson-Brown, LD (1990) College student's perception of nutrition messages: How motivating are they? Journal of Nutrition Education 22, 30–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poppitt, SD & 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, Swann, D, Black, AE & Prentice, AM (1995) Is under-reporting of energy intake in obese women macronutrient specific? Covert measurements in a metabolic facility. International Journal of Obesity 29, Suppl. 2, 29.Google Scholar
Prentice, AM, Black, AE, Coward, WA, Davies, HL, Goldberg, GR, Murgatroyd, PR, Ashford, J, Sawyer, M & Whitehead, RG (1986) High levels of energy expenditure in obese women. British Medical Journal 292, 983–987.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, BJ, Castellanos, VH, Halford, JC, Kilara, A, Panyam, D, Pelkman, CL, Smith, GP & Thorwart, ML (1998) Volume of food consumed affects satiety in men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67, 1170–1177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ruxton, CHS, Kirk, TR & Belton, NR (1996) The contribution of specific dietary patterns to energy and nutrient intakes in 7–8-year-old Scottish schoolchildren. III. Snacking habits. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 9, 23–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlundt, DG, Hill, JO, Pope-Cordle, J, Arnold, D, Virts, KL & Katahn, M (1993) Randomized evaluation of a low fat ad libitum carbohydrate diet for weight reduction. International Journal of Obesity 17, 623–629.Google ScholarPubMed
Scottish, Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (1996) Obesity in Scotland. Integrating Prevention with Weight Management .Edinburgh: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.Google Scholar
Shah, M, McGovern, P, French, S & Baxter, J (1994) Comparison of a low-fat, ad libitum complex-carbohydrate diet with a low-energy diet in moderately obese women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 59, 980–984.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Summerbell, CD, Moody, RC, Shanks, J, Stock, MJ & Geissler, C (1995) Sources of energy from meals versus snacks in 220 people in four age groups. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 49, 33–41.Google ScholarPubMed
Summerbell, CD, Moody, RC, Shanks, J, Stock, MJ & Geissler, C (1996) Relationship between feeding pattern and body mass index in 220 free-living people in four age groups. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 513–519.Google ScholarPubMed
Van, Assema P, Kempers, B, Brug, J & Glanz, K (1999) An exploratory study into Dutch consumers' experiences with implementing recommendations to reduce fat intake. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 12, 103–112.Google Scholar
Van Itallie, TB (1990) The Glucostatic theory 1953–1988: Roots and branches. International Journal of Obesity 14, 1–10.Google ScholarPubMed
Westerterp-Plantenga, MS, Wijckmans-Duysens, NA & ten, Hoor F (1994) Food intake in the daily environment after energy-reduced lunch, related to habitual meal frequency. Appetite 22, 173–182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whybrow, S & Kirk, TR (1997) Nutrient intakes and snacking frequency in female students. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 10, 237–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (1998) Obesity. Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Yates, H, Crombie, NE & Kirk, TR (1997) Evidence of energy intake compensation at meals after snacking intervention – a pilot study. International Journal of Obesity 21, S113.Google Scholar
Yu-Poth, S, Zhao, G, Etherton, T, Naglak, M, Jonnalagadda, S & Kris-Etherton, PM (1999) Effects of the National Cholesterol Education Program's step I and step II dietary intervention programs on cardiovascular disease factors: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 69, 632–646.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed