sonicrami wrote: Hi Jeff,
As I have always said, I value your input greatly.
Thanks.
sonicrami wrote: You said "What they have found is if people follow the guidelines and principles of calorie density and the calorie density of the food is below ~400 calories per pound, most people will lose weight.:
I am wandering if you could share links to these studies.
First, let me clarify the comment.
The "categories" of calorie density I teach are guidelines that must be applied to the individual and are not rules carved in stone. They also go hand in hand with the other principles I teach.
The "they" really should be a "we" and the we refers to my colleagues and me and our collective experience in studying and applying the research. The concept is not new and has been around for many decades. Many others (Ornish, Shintani, Kenney, McDougall, etc) have studied, researched and have taught the principles in their own way that greatly influenced me and my initial understanding of the concept, which dates back to the mid-late 80's and early 90's. Then, I got to work with these principles in a residential live-in program for 10 years when I was Director of Nutrition for the Pritikin Longevity center from 1998-2007. During that time, over 20K participants went through the program. It was from my experience there working closely with my colleagues and the participants that we came up with the 4 categories. They are guidelines, not “guarantees.”
There are other professionals who have had similar experience and came to similar conclusions.
Some specifics...
Dr OrnishHis original study was published in 1979 though didn't focus specifically on calorie density.
Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease, came out in 1990
His, Eat More, Weigh Less book came out in 1993.
Ornish DM, Gotto AM, Miller RR, et al. Effects of a vegetarian diet and selected yoga techniques in the treatment of coronary heart disease. Clinical Research. 1979;27:720A.[15]
Pritikin Their original study was published in 1981
The Pritikin Permanent Weight-Loss Manual came out in March, 1981
The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise came out in February 1982
Robert Pritikin's "The Pritikin Principle: The Calorie Density Solution" came out on Jun 16, 2000
Barnard, R.J., F. Weber, W. Weingarten, C.M. Bennett and N. Pritikin. Effects of an intensive, short-term exercise and nutrition program on patients with coronary heart disease. J Cardiac Rehab, 1: 99-105, 1981.
Dr McDougallDr McDougall's book, The McDougall Plan came on on Oct 22, 1983 (included a weight loss chapter based on calorie density & satiety)
The Maximum Weight Loss book came out on April 1, 1994
ResearchThe first official human study focused specifically on this topic may have been....
The effects of high and low energy density diets on satiety, energy intake, and eating time of obese and nonobese subjects.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1983 May;37(5):763-7.
Duncan KH, Bacon JA, Weinsier RL.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6303 ... t=AbstractDr ShintaniHis original study was published in 1991
Terri Shintani's, Eat More Weight Less book came out on April 1, 1993
Shintani, T. T., C. K. Hughes, S. K. Beckham, H. K. O`Connor. "Obesity and cardiovascular risk intervention through the ad libitum feeding of traditional Hawaiian Diet." Am J Clin Nutr 53 (1991):1647S-51S.
B RollsHer published work in the are goes back to the 1970's in animals and in the mid- late 1980's in humans.
Barbara Rolls "The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan" came out on December 22, 1999
OthersJames Kenney, PhD RD's book, The LA Diet, was published in 1987. Dr Kenney is the head of nutrition research for Pritikin since 1985
Elizabeth Somer, RD, published the book, The Origin Diet: How Eating like Our Stone Age Ancestors will Maximize Your Health," in 2001 which discussed calorie density and gave a list of high and low calorie dense foods
In regard to the development of the concept and the cut-off levels ....
Dr Shintani created the Eat More Index (EMI), which you can find a description of here
http://www.amdiet.com/healingandyou/Eat ... hLess1.pdfHe doesn't quite create cut-off categories though on page 65 he briefly discusses the idea in regard to intact whole grains vs processed whole grain bread products and has a little chart with 3 categories.
One other who has had extensive work in the area has come up with similar categories, is Barbara Rolls and a PubMed search for her will bring up all her work.
In 2003, Dr Rolls wrote a feature article in the Permanente Journal called, Energy Density and Nutrition in Weight Control Management (The Permanente Journal/ Spring 2003/ Volume 7 No. 2), (
http://www.thepermanentejournal.org/fil ... energy.pdf) where she reviewed her work and her book Volumetrics. The purpose of the article and the book was,
"To help consumers use information about energy density to manage their weight, Robert Barnett and I wrote a book, The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan, in which foods are divided into four categories according to their energy density."From the article...
"The first category consists of foods with very low energy density, ie, foods containing between 0.0 and 0.6 kcal/g. We encourage people to eat as much as they wish of these foods, which include soups, fruits, and vegetables. [NOTE: this is the equivalent of 0 - 272.4 cal/lb]
The second category includes most foods that we eat daily: starchy fruits and vegetables, beans, and lean meat. Under the volumetrics concept, people may continue to consume relatively large portions of these foods. The energy density for this category is between 0.6 and 1.5 kcal/g. [NOTE: this is the equivalent of 272 - 681 cal/lb]
The energy density of foods in the third category ranges from 1.5 to 4.0 kcal/g [NOTE: this is the equivalent of 681 - 1800 cal/lb] and includes a wide variety of foods, such as cheese, salad dressings, some snack foods, and desserts. Intake of these foods, particularly those with higher energy density, should be moderated.
The energy density of foods in the fourth category ranges from 4.0 to 9.0 kcal/g. [NOTE: this is the equivalent of 1800 - 4000 cal/lb]. These foods have the highest energy density and include chocolates, fatty foods (eg, nuts, chips, and other deep-fried foods), and candy. Intake of these foods requires careful portion control."Based on her work, she split foods into four categories based on energy density. While not exact, these are very close to the four categories my colleagues and I came up with. As you can see in her lowest category, which has a cut off that is even lower the mine (~300 cal/lb), she encourages people to
"eat as much as they wish of these foods." .
In regard to weight, I agree with her that it would be extremely difficult for anyone to gain weight on these foods or not lose weight. It may be possible but one would have to work really really hard at it. Not a guarantee, but a guideline. This is also why the calorie density for the SNAP recipe template average ~275 - 350 cal/lb and falls into this category.
Dr McDougall asks people who follow his MWL to limit fruit, which is in this lowest category. So, while we are all pretty close in agreement, everyone teaches this a little differently based on their understanding of the research and their professional experience implementing it.
My categories are slightly different than Dr Roll's as mine are the result of my experience applying them to our current food supply, our sedentary population, the obesity epidemic and this way of eating. To me, once we get over 1200 calories per pound, we are dealing with higher calorie dense foods and the pleasure trap (which is also triggered by higher calorie dense foods). I see no reason to split the last two categories up at 1800 cal/lb but knowing Dr Roll's audience, which is more of the general public, I can see why she did that. In our world, we are mostly dealing with only three foods that would fit there, 1) nuts and seeds, 2) bread products and 3) dried fruits. These foods are over 1200 calories per pound and, as we know, need to be greatly limited for most people trying to lose weight.
In regard to the 567 cal/lb...
In my calorie density talk, I also cite a study where the lowest rate of obesity was found in those whose diet averaged about 550 calories/lb. Note, it found the lowest rate. It did not say it guaranteed anything (nor can any study say that).
That 550 and the 567 of the AICR Report conincidently falls about half-way in the second categorie of both my 4 categories and the 4 categories of Barbara Rolls.
I also use that 550 number as the fulcrum (or starting point) in my calorie density chart.
So, I am not exactly sure if there is one (or two) studies out there that specifically point to these exact numbers but this is where these guidelines come from.
In Health
Jeff
