Pulses May Help Weight Management

5th August 2014

Eating about one serving a day of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can increase fullness, which may lead to better weight management and weight loss, a new study published in the August issue of the journal Obesity has found.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of all available clinical trials found that people felt 31 per cent fuller after eating on average 160 grams of dietary pulses compared with a control diet. Pulses have a low glycemic index (meaning that they are foods that break down slowly) and can be used to reduce or displace animal protein as well as “bad” fats such as trans-fat in a dish or meal.

The researchers noted that 90 per cent of weight loss interventions fail, resulting in weight regain, which may be due in part to hunger and food cravings. Knowing which foods make people feel fuller longer may help them lose weight and keep it off. The finding that pulses make people feel fuller was true across various age categories and Body Mass Indexes.

Although the analysis found pulses had little impact on “second meal food intake”, the amount of food someone eats at his or her next meal, these findings support longer-term clinical trials that have shown a weight loss benefit of dietary pulses.

The systematic review and meta-analysis included nine clinical trials involving 126 participants out of more than 2,000 papers screened. Another recently published systematic review and meta-analysis by the same research group found that eating on average one serving a day of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can also reduce “bad cholesterol” by five per cent and therefore lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Li S S et al., Dietary pulses, satiety and food intake: A systematic review and meta-analysis of acute feeding trials. Obesity, 2014; 22 (8): 1773 DOI:10.1002/oby.20782

Categories: Nutritional News, Weight Management, Metabolic Health