Food Energy Density and Body Weight
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Author's copy! Any use beyond the limits of copyright law without the consent of the publisher is prohibited and punishable. This applies in particular to duplications, translations, microfilming as well as storage and processing in electronic systems. DGE | Statement Food Energy Density and Body Weight A scientific statement from the DGE Angela Bechthold, Bonn many are in a minority from the age Summary group of 30 to 34 (men) or 55 to 59 (women). 67 % of men and 53 % of Bearing in mind the high prevalence of overweight in the population, it women are overweight. At the same would be very interesting to identify the factors that influence increases time, increasing numbers of individ - in weight, or successful weight loss or weight maintenance. Numerous uals are obese; almost a quarter of studies have shown that food energy density is one of these factors. The adults are affected (23 % of men and German Nutrition Society (DGE) introduces the concept of energy den - 24 % of women) [1, 2]. sity. Together with nutritional density, this is a useful concept in the eval - uation of foods – apart from drinks. Current scientific findings suggest As overweight is so prevalent, it that there is a positive association between food energy density and body would be of great interest to identify weight. A nutritional pattern with low energy density can help to main - the factors that influence weight tain or reduce body weight. The DGE concludes that measures to con - gain, as well as successful weight trol weight should consider food energy density. loss and weight maintenance. It Keywords: energy density, body weight, overweight, obesity, weight might then be possible to infer pos - loss sible methods for treatment or pre - vention. At the first glance, it is quite clear how to lose weight: Energy in - take must be less than energy ex - Introduction and objective described in the nutritional reports of penditure. There has been much de - the German Nutrition Society (DGE); bate about the best way to reach this Changes in the living conditions in they have been very rapid and have goal. For decades, there has been a Germany have led to a marked de - taken place within only a few gen - great deal of discussion and research crease in physical activity. However, erations. A wide variety of relatively on changes in the composition of nutrition has not been adapted to the cheap and tasty foods are now avail - food with respect to the content of resulting decrease in energy require - able – everywhere and at any time. the energy sources carbohydrate, fat ments. In parallel to these changes in Many of these are of high energy and protein. However, this approach lifestyle and working environment, density. It is becoming increasingly could be incomplete or misleading if there has been a fundamental change difficult to achieve a long-term en - the energy density is ignored [3]. in nutritional behaviour and food ergy balance – particularly for con - culture. These diverse changes are sumers with inadequate knowledge The present statement presents the of the composition and preparation principle for the calculation and as - of foods [1]. sessment of the energy density of foods. Current scientific knowledge This has lead to a high prevalence of on the link between food energy den - Citation: overweight in the population. This sity and body weight is described Bechthold A (2014) Food energy frequently starts in children and and evaluated. For this purpose, a lit - density and body weight. A scien - adolescents and is particularly erature search was carried out in tific statement from the DGE. Er - marked in socially disadvantaged PubMed for meta-analyses and sys - nahrungs Umschau 61(1): 2–11 families. The increase in weight con - tematic reviews. In addition, for the This article is available online: tinues in adults and is affecting more period between 1 May 2011 (end of DOI 10.4455/eu.2014.002 and more people. As a consequence, the search period for the most mod - people of normal weight in Ger - ern available meta-analysis) and 25 2 Ernaehrungs Umschau international | 1/2014 June 2013, a search was performed Most natural foods of plant origin for intervention and cohort studies exhibit low energy density and high Definitions (search terms: [“energy density” OR nutrient density – the exceptions are Energy density is defined as the “caloric density” OR “energy dense”] plant oils and nuts. Because of their energy content (in kcal or kJ) per AND [“body weight” OR “body mass high water content, drinks and fluid unit weight (e.g. g or 100 g) food. index” OR obes* OR overweight OR dishes – such as soups – exhibit adiposity]; Limits: Humans; Field: lower energy density than many Nutrient density is the ratio of es - Title / Abstract). v Table 2 sum - “solid” foods and dishes. This is il - sential nutrients to energy in the marises the selected studies that were lustrated in v Figure 1, with the en - food. This is defined as the quan - used in this statement to evaluate ergy density of selected foods and tity of nutrient (e.g. in mg) per the available data. dishes. unit energy (e.g. kJ or MJ). Energy density of foods Calculation of the mean and dishes energy density of food on call (underreporting, see the section on “Method to determine the energy Foods or dishes of low energy den - the basis of food consump - density of food”, p. 4). Calculations sity provide less energy per unit tion in Germany of the energy density on the basis of weight than those with high energy Energy density of food for consumption data from agricultural density. For the same amount of en - adults, depending on age and statistics and income and consump - ergy, a person can consume a larger gender tion samples (potential overestima - portion of a food or dish of low en - tion of the true consumption) give ergy density than of one with a high The National Nutrition Survey II lower values for the mean energy energy density. (NVS II) provides representative data density (women ca. 1.4 kcal/g, men on food consumption and nutri - ca. 1.8 kcal/g) [7]. The energy density of foods and tional behaviour for the German- dishes, or diets, is largely dependent speaking population. In the context Energy density of food, on their fat and water content [4]. If of NVS II, a total of 19,329 men and depending on lifestyle and a food is rich in water (provides no women aged 14–80 years were sur - nutritional knowledge energy) or in fibre (low energy con - veyed throughout Germany be - tent of ca. 2.3 kcal/g), it generally tween November 2005 and January National Nutrition Survey II (2012) exhibits low energy density. Vegeta - 2007. On the basis of two 24-hour describes the evaluation of the 24- bles and fruit are the best example of recalls, weighted data were available hour recall data from 6,817 partici - this. In contrast, foods that are rich for 10,215 adults (19–64 years) pants in the NVS II, aged 19 to 64 in fat usually exhibit high energy (v Table 1). Drinks were not consid - years for different population density, as fat is the nutrient with ered in the calculation of energy den - groups. This gave the following re - the highest energy density (fat, 9 sity. The median energy density was sults for the food energy density kcal [37 kJ]; alcohol, 7 kcal [29 kJ]; 1.7 kcal/g for women and 2 kcal/g (drinks were excluded from the cal - carbohydrate, 4 kcal [17 kJ]; pro - for men [6]. culation) [8]: tein, 4 kcal [17 kJ] – each per g). However, foods rich in carbohydrate When considering these data, it is – For women and men who engage can also exhibit high energy density, important to remember that partic - in sport, the median food energy if the water content is low – e. g. ipants may underreport their own density is lower (1.64 kcal/g and white bread. food consumption in a 24-hour re - 1.94 kcal/g, respectively) than for 19–24 years 25–34 years 35–50 years 51–64 years overall n P50 n P50 n P50 n P50 n P50 women 486 1.88 852 1.71 2 648 1.71 1 740 1.58 5 726 1.70 men 469 2.17 614 2.08 1 946 2.03 1 460 1.92 4 489 2.02 Tab. 1: Median values (P50) for food energy density [kcal/g] by gender and age (data from NVS II [6]) Ernaehrungs Umschau international | 1/2014 3 DGE | Statement those who do not engage in sport price per weight or portion). The rel - this gives a variable that shifts the (1.73 kcal/g and 2.02 kcal/g, re - atively low prices of foods of high association between energy density spectively). energy density may be one reason and weight increase in the popula - for the high prevalence of over - tion in the direction of no correla - – For female and male smokers, the weight in the population, particu - tion. Moreover, the intra-individual median food energy density is larly for consumers of low socioeco - between-day variance may then be higher (1.80 kcal/g and 2.11 nomic status [9], whose risk of obe - greater than the inter-individual kcal/g, respectively) than for fe - sity is increased [13]. Conversely, variance if the energy density of male and male non-smokers (1.63 food of high quality frequently costs foods including drinks is calculated. kcal/g and 1.93 kcal/g, respec - more per kcal and is consumed by tively).