Foods To Avoid For Weight Gain

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicates that approximately 32.7 percent of U.S. adults 20 years and older are overweight, 34.3 percent are obese and 5.9 percent are extremely obese. The cause of the epidemic is multifaceted, but eating and exercise are major contributors. Exercise aside, diet can have a significant impact on weight gain.

Dieting and Weight Gain

No single food or nutrient is the cause of weight gain. Rather, the most common foods comprising an "energy-dense, nutrient-poor diet" are blamed. This kind of diet includes foods that are high in calories and low in nutritive value, such as processed foods, concentrated sugars, refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, trans fats and minimal fiber. Categorizing foods based on their energy density and nutrient content is an excellent tool for restructuring your diet to prevent weight gain.

Measuring Energy and Nutrient Density

The energy density of a food refers to the number of calories per gram. Protein and carbohydrate contain 4 calories per gram, while fat contains 9. Nutrient content refers to the nutritional value of foods. Three energy-providing nutrients exist: fat, carbohydrate and protein. Healthful choices from each nutrient allow for necessary vitamin and mineral consumption, which contribute to the nutritional value of a food.

High-fat Foods

Because of their caloric density, high-fat foods are largely thought to be more likely to cause weight gain than high-protein or high-carbohydrate foods. However, this oversimplification is sometimes misleading. A 2007 study published in the journal "Obesity" suggested no association between weight gain and consumption of the Mediterranean diet, a diet moderately high in fats. Furthermore, in the September 2008 issue of the "Journal of Nutrition," Dr. Richard Mattes et al. documented that the consumption of nuts, also high in unsaturated fats, taken in a calorie-controlled situation, actually caused weight loss.

Concentrated Sugars

The American diet is infiltrated by sweets. Concentrated sugars including sucrose and high fructose corn syrup are likely to cause weight gain. Foods falling into this category include snack cakes, candies, juice drinks, and especially sugary sodas. If the sugar content listed on a food label is less than 8 grams, or if the ingredients list contains "high fructose corn syrup," respect your waistline, and pass on it.
Sweets often also contain disease-driving saturated and trans fats. Examples of foods with both concentrated sugars and unhealthy fats include doughnuts and other pastries, french fries, cookies, and crackers. The addition of fats to calorie-loaded sweets is a recipe for disastrous weight gain. Moreover, in the July 2005 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Julia Ello-Martin proposed that the energy-dense diet promotes loss of control of portion size, resulting in even greater weight gain potential due to over-consumption of energy dense food. Identify these foods by looking for a high saturated fat content on the Nutrition Facts Panel of food labels, and the words "partially hydrogenated oil" in the ingredients list, which indicates the presence of trans fats. Then, leave these products on the shelf,

Processed and Fast Foods

Processed foods are a final category of food to avoid when watching the waistline. These foods contain refined grains, which are concentrated sugars, and highly saturated fats and trans fats. Excellent examples include meat-containing breakfast sandwiches, deep-fried appetizers with dressings, batter-dipped selections, and all fried fast foods.