Dried fruit is a natural, sweet snack that concentrates the nutrients of whole fruit into a smaller, portable package. A quarter-cup serving of dried fruit counts as a half-cup serving of fruit according to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. The water content of fresh fruit helps make it satisfying and low in calories. Removing all the water from the fruit during the drying process creates a highly calorie-dense food. Eating more calories than you burn daily can cause weight gain.
Calories
The average woman needs just 2,000 calories per day and the average man just 2,500 calories. If you are inactive, you may need even fewer. One serving of dried fruit, a scant quarter-cup, contains between 100 and 150 calories. Exceeding this serving size is easy, especially given the sweet, pleasing flavor of dried fruit. If you down an entire cup of raisins, you will consume 434 calories -- or between 20 and 25 percent of your daily calorie needs. To prevent weight gain, you would have to trim your calorie intake at other meals.
Benefits
Although it contains significant calories, dried fruit often offers more vitamins, minerals and fiber than fresh versions. Dried apricots, for example, have twice as much fiber per cup when compared to fresh. Raisins offer four times the iron found in grapes. The concentrated calories in dried fruit can be an asset to exercisers or people who need to gain weight. Dried fruit has a longer shelf life than fresh and is more easily stashed into a backpack for portability.
Sugar
Dried fruit is naturally high in sugar. For example, 1 oz. of dates contains 19 g. Some dried fruits, particularly cranberries, mangoes, blueberries and cherries, often have added cane sugar or high-fructose corn syrup to make them more palatable. The added sugar raises the calorie count and increases you daily sugar intake. The American Heart Association notes that the average American consumes 22.5 tsp. of sugar daily, which contributes over 350 calories to your diet, correlating with weight gain and chronic disease. Consuming sugared dried fruit only contributes to this excessive sugar intake.
Moderation
Enjoying dried fruit in moderation will not cause weight gain, as long as you account for it in your total daily calorie needs. Go ahead and add a quarter-cup of raisins to your morning cereal, or have a few dried apricot halves as a snack, but curb calories elsewhere to make up for the additions. If you are watching your weight, you may be better off sticking to fresh fruit, which allows you to enjoy larger servings for fewer calories.
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