In a new study from Copenhagen University, researchers found that eating foods like soft white bread and jasmine rice leads to greater weight gain after weight loss.
Such foods can also raise blood glucose levels, increasing the likelihood of type 2 diabetes.
The researchers found that high glycemic index (GI) versions of foods like bread, potato and rice (for example, soft white and brown breads, desiree potatoes and jasmine rice) are likely to strongly increase the risk of weight gain following weight loss.
They found people who maintained a high GI diet following weight loss gained half a kilo more per year than those with a low GI diet.
As well as better weight control, low GI diets were linked to improved blood glucose levels.
In the study, the team used data from over 2,000 people classified as overweight or obese, who were at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
In the first phase of the study, all participants consumed meal replacement shakes to achieve fast weight loss, equivalent to at least eight percent of their body weight (about 11 kilograms) in eight weeks.
In the second phase, lasting three years, the researchers compared two diets and two exercise strategies: a high protein-low GI diet, or a moderate protein-moderate GI diet, each combined with either high or moderate-intensity exercise.
Despite their best efforts, all four groups regained some of the weight they’d lost.
But it was clear that the lower the GI of the diet, the smaller the weight regain. The beneficial effect of GI was still present after adjusting for differences in protein, fiber, and other factors.
The findings suggest that choosing low GI versions of bread, potatoes and rice will make it easier to beat the battle of the bulge.
The World Health Organization states that the global prevalence of diabetes is increasing. In 2019, it directly caused an estimated 1.5 million deaths.
About the Glycemic Index (GI)
All carbohydrate foods raise blood glucose levels in the hours after eating, but some have a faster and greater impact because they are digested faster.
On a scale where glucose in solution has a score of 100, many varieties of bread, potatoes and rice have a high GI—in the range 70-100. But other foods, such as beans, pasta, and dairy products, have a lower GI (30-55).
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The study is published in Diabetes Care. One author of the study is Jennie Brand-Miller.
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