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Changes in Intake of Fruits and Vegetables and Weight Change in United States Men and Women Followed for Up to 24 Years: Analysis from Three Prospective Cohort Studies
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Current dietary guidelines recommend eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. However, based on nutrient composition, some particular fruits and vegetables may be more or less beneficial for maintaining or achieving a healthy weight. We hypothesized that greater consumption of fruits and vegetables with a higher fiber content or lower glycemic load would be more strongly associated with a healthy weight. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We examined the association between change in intake of specific fruits and vegetables and change in weight in three large, prospective cohorts of 133,468 United States men and women. From 1986 to 2010, these associations were examined within multiple 4-y time intervals, adjusting for simultaneous changes in other lifestyle factors, including other aspects of diet, smoking status, and physical activity. Results were combined using a random effects meta-analysis. Increased intake of fruits was inversely associated with 4-y weight change: total fruits -0.53 lb per daily serving (95% CI -0.61, -0.44), berries -1.11 lb (95% CI -1.45, -0.78), and apples/pears -1.24 lb (95% CI -1.62, -0.86). Increased intake of several vegetables was also inversely associated with weight change: total vegetables -0.25 lb per daily serving (95% CI -0.35, -0.14), tofu/soy -2.47 lb (95% CI, -3.09 to -1.85 lb) and cauliflower -1.37 lb (95% CI -2.27, -0.47). On the other hand, increased intake of starchy vegetables, including corn, peas, and potatoes, was associated with weight gain. Vegetables having both higher fiber and lower glycemic load were more strongly inversely associated with weight change compared with lower-fiber, higher-glycemic-load vegetables (p < 0.0001). Despite the measurement of key confounders in our analyses, the potential for residual confounding cannot be ruled out, and although our food frequency questionnaire specified portion size, the assessment of diet using any method will have measurement error. CONCLUSIONS: Increased consumption of fruits and non-starchy vegetables is inversely associated with weight change, with important differences by type suggesting that other characteristics of these foods influence the magnitude of their association with weight change.
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“in contrast to nonstarchy vegetables which are associated with protection against weight gain and diabetes.28, 55, 146, 147”
From Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review (2016) · cites this paper as [55]
In the citing paper
“while potatoes, corn, and peas are linked to greater long-term weight gain”
From Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review (2016) · cites this paper as [55]
In the citing paper
“In recent work, among major vegetables consumed in the US, potatoes, corn, and peas were each associated with long-term weight gain, whereas other vegetable subtypes were each associated with weight loss.55”
From Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review (2016) · cites this paper as [55]
In the citing paper
“Among those that have, higher intake of potatoes, including boiled and baked potatoes, is prospectively linked to incidence of diabetes”
From Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review (2016) · cites this paper as [55]
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Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bertoia, M. L., Mukamal, K. J., Cahill, L. E., Hou, T., Ludwig, D. S., Mozaffarian, D., Willett, W. C., Hu, F. B., & Rimm, E. B.
- Affiliations
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Boston Children's Hospital (US)
- Tufts University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bertoia, Monica L.
- ORCID
- Venue
- PLOS Medicine
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2015-09-22
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- e1001878
- ISSN
- 1549-1277 (ISSN-L)
- 1549-1676
- PMC
- PMC4578962
- OpenAlex
- W1915710460
- Cited by
- 397
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 52 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 37.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2016-01-20)
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (R01 HL088521)
- Amarin Corporation
- National Institutes of Health (5r01ca049449-18, R01 CA49449, UM1-CA-176726, UM1-CA167552, CA176726, CA-167552, CA67262, CA 87969)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL035464, R01 HL35464, R01HL034594, R01HL088521)
- National Cancer Institute (R01-CA49449, P01CA087969, R01‐CA049449, UM1CA176726, R01 CA67262, UM1CA167552, R01CA067262, [P01 CA87969)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K24DK082730)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- fruits, vegetables, weight change, weight gain, dietary fiber, glycemic load, berries, cauliflower, starchy vegetables, potato, maize, pea, longitudinal dietary change, obesity prevention, healthy weight maintenance, prospective cohort, random-effects meta-analysis, residual confounding, sex differences, United States adults, physical activity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Body Weight, Female, Fruit, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, United States, Vegetables
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